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November 3, 2022

With commercial interest lacking, Colt Gateway developers seek to convert more space to apartments

Wikimedia Commons The Colt Armory building in Hartford.
By Michael Puffer

With commercial interest lagging in the redevelopment of the former Colt Firearms complex in Hartford, the Colt Gateway Partnership is leaning into the more successful residential sector with the creation of more apartments.

The developer has received local permits needed for the creation of 45 apartments in portions of two buildings, according to a brief by the Capital Region Development Authority.

The Colt campus includes 10 buildings on a 17-acre campus on the southwestern edge of downtown Hartford.

The CRDA has been asked to supply a $1.5 million loan to help pay the anticipated $6.7 million cost of the pending apartment conversion. The loan would be provided at 3% interest over 20 years.

Plans call for creation of 11 studio apartments, three one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments in “Building L,”  along with one studio apartment and 28 one-bedroom apartments in “Building East.” Construction is anticipated to last 12 to 15 months, according to CRDA.

The proposed loan is due to go before the CRDA’s Housing Committee during a meeting Friday. It would also be subject to state Bond Commission approval, as well as the determination by CRDA executive staff that other adequate financing is in place.

The CRDA has previously lent money for two other conversions at the Colt Gateway development, resulting in 76 apartments in two buildings.

So far, Colt Gateway has 205 apartments in its mixed-use redevelopment. As of about a year ago, about 60% of the space was set aside for commercial development, with the remainder as residential.

Studio apartments currently rent for $1,195 to $1,745; one-bedrooms for $1,515 to $1,975; and two-bedroom apartments for $1,975 to $3,250.
The buildings at the Colt complex date from the mid-1800s through the 1940s.

Samuel Colt built his first factory in 1847, then in 1855 established the Colt Armory. The factory burned to the ground in February 1864, two years after Colt died, but his wife, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt, had the factory insured after her husband’s death and was able to rebuild within three years.
 

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