Charter Realty & Development Corp has been retained to lease a historic, mixed-use development in the Front Street District of downtown Hartford, CT. The 150,000 square foot, mixed-use project, developed by the HB Nitkin Group, is occurring in three phases. Phase one, which makes up roughly 65,000 square feet of the property, is completed and now open. It features such strong tenants as Spotlight Theaters, The Capital Grill, Ted’s Montana Grill, Infinity Music Hall & Grill, Nix Mate, and Qdoba. Additional retail space in this phase is currently available for lease.
Phase two of the project, will feature another 14,800 square feet of contemporary retail space, as well as 121 residential units. These chic residences, appropriately named Front Street Lofts, will provide the many offerings of an urban lifestyle in Hartford. Phase two is expected to reach completion in 2015.
The third and final phase of the project will be the brand new University of Connecticut, Greater Hartford Campus. The University is moving it’s West Hartford operations to this new, state-of-the-art location. It’s here that UConn plans to create an urban academic setting, fully intertwined with the nearby Hartford Public Library, Wadsworth Atheneum, Connecticut Science Center, and government offices. The anchor structure of this campus will be the former Hartford Times Building, which will maintain it’s iconic façade. Like phases 1 and 2, phase 3 also includes a retail element, which will conveniently provide daily amenities, services, and merchandise to the University students, faculty, and staff. This third phase of construction was designed by renowned architect Robert AM Stern, and is expected reach completion in 2017.
Roughly bounded by Columbus Blvd to the East, Prospect Blvd to the West, and Arch St. to the South, the Front Street District is quickly becoming the vibrant epicenter of Connecticut’s capital city. The Front Street District is a constituent of Adriaen’s Landing, a state-sponsored, master planned development that attracts activity to downtown through retail, restaurants, entertainment, education, conventions, museums and residential living.
The impact of the Front Street District development will be historic and lasting for Hartford. Job creation is a key component, as tremendous manpower will be required to construct, operate, and maintain the property. Hartford area construction contractors, local business owners/operators, and employees in retail and hospitality will be in high demand. The rapidly growing consumer base is another encouraging component to the project’s impact. The adjacent Connecticut Convention Center and its venues, draw over a million visitors per year. This combined with exceptional foot traffic and the presence of 3,500 University students, faculty, and staff, will generate an incredible amount of economic activity in the capital city.
Charter Realty and Development Corp. is acting as the landlord representative for this project. Charter is involved in a similar, multi-phase development, which is already well underway at the University of Connecticut’s main campus in Storrs, CT. The $220 million, mixed-use project is designed to service UCONN‘s 17,000 undergraduates, 6,600 graduate students, as well as the 4,500 faculty and staff members. Charter Realty & Development Corp. currently owns and leases over 12 million square feet of space throughout the Northeastern United States. For more information on Charter and it’s available spaces, please visit www.chartweb.com.
