Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

April 29, 2020

Hartford townhome redevelopment to debut 75 units this summer

Rendering | Contributed Upon completion, Hartford's Village at Park River will house more than 400 townhome-style living units.
By Joe Cooper

Developers are nearing completion on the first phase of a redevelopment project designed to transform one of Hartford's last remaining North End housing projects into a thriving mixed-use community.

Hartford’s housing authority (HACH), a quasi-public agency overseeing the redevelopment, and development partners Pennrose and The Cloud Co. on Tuesday said the initial phase of the Westbrook Village revitalization project is slated for completion this summer after about 14 months of construction. 

Officials on Tuesday also revealed the 40-acre community bordering Albany Avenue will be named Village at Park River. The name pays homage to the development’s proximity to the waterway that flows on the western edge of the property. Leasing is expected to begin sometime this spring.

According to plans, phase one of the multi-phase project will include 75 attached one-, two-, and three-bedroom townhouse-style homes equipped with modern kitchens, appliances (including a dishwasher), washer and dryer, and central air conditioning. Amenities will include a community room and fitness center, among others.

Eighty-percent of units (60), will be set aside for households with incomes up to 60% of the area median income, and the remaining 20% will be leased at market rate.

HACH Executive Director Annette Sanderson in a statement said the development is critical to “creating a vibrant new community where residents can live, shop and do business.”

“This new name celebrates that rebirth and new sense of place,” Sanderson said.

The second phase of construction has already begun, and will eventually include 60 units. Officials say 75% of those units will be earmarked for low-income residents.

It will cost more than $70 million to erect 200 units in the first three phases, a spokesperson for the developers told HBJ.

Officials have said the project will be funded by a mix of state and private money, tax credits and subsidies. 

In early 2018, the Connecticut Department of Housing provided $9 million to relocate Westbrook residents, as well as remediate, abate and demolish the entire site at the intersection of Mark Twain Drive and Albany Avenue. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is also providing nearly $4 million in rental subsidies for 15 years to ensure the affordability of 24 units of housing.

Once all redevelopment phases are complete, Village at Park River will comprise more than 400 living units of mixed-income homes, and 100,000 square feet of new office and retail space, bike baths, playground, community gardens and a central park.

The developers say they hope to attract several types of tenants to the 10-acre commercial space, including a pharmacy, restaurant, retail stores and academic space for the University of Hartford.

JDA Development also is partnering with Pennrose and Cloud Co. to develop the commercial-retail component. JDA is best known as the developer of West Hartford’s successful Blue Back Square residential-commercial complex in the heart of town.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF