This area of Hartford could be in store for major redevelopment

May 23, 2023

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Hartford's Flat Iron building was one step closer to renovation after key votes to rezone the property by the city's Planning & Zoning Commission on May 30, 2023.

A rendering of the new building planned for across from the Flat Iron Building on the corner of Ann Uccello and Main streets just north of downtown Hartford, near Dunkin' Donuts Park.

A key connector between downtown Hartford and neighborhoods to the north is one step closer to a new look.

Three properties in the city's Arrowhead Gateway section were approved for rezoning at a special meeting of the Hartford Planning & Zoning Commission this week, including the historic "Flat Iron" building that now stands vacant at 529 Ann Uccello St.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the redevelopment plans were a priority in the area even as a judge's ruling on Tuesday threatened ongoing apartment construction nearby at Dunkin' Park.

"We're not going to slow down when it comes to finding opportunities to continue the the momentum and the construction of new residential units and mixed use development," Bronin said.

Modeled after New York City's Flatiron, the wedge-shaped building at the corner of Main and Ann Uccello was built in 1901. Now boarded up and decaying, it once housed apartments and businesses including Travel Bees Auto Accessories, whose sign is fading on the west facade.

The Flat Iron property and another lot across the street at 532 Ann Uccello were rezoned to allow the construction of 14 apartments and 2,400 square feet of commercial space at street level as part of a redevelopment plan. The overgrown empty lot behind the Flat Iron would become parking under another application set to go before planners

The vacant city-owned land at 532 Ann Uccello — once home to a soup kitchen — was also rezoned to allow for its combination with property at 1359 and 1355 Main Street for construction of a new building that will house 23 apartments and 5,000 feet of commercial space. The structure that once housed the infamous Arrowhead Cafe sits to the north of the property.

The zoning on the three parcels was changed from "neighborhood mix" to "downtown" to reflect developers’ plans to blend housing and retail "intended to create an active atmosphere," according to the city planning department staff report.

Under the redevelopment plan, a wedge-shaped new building would be erected on the combined properties, its design echoing the shape of the Flat Iron across the street.

Another six apartments are planned for a co-op building at 506-520 Ann Uccello, for a total of 43 new units on what is known as the "Salvin Block," named for a shoe store on Main Street that closed in 2020 after nearly a century in business.

Hartford has partnered with nonprofit organization San Juan Center and The Carabetta Companies of Meriden on the planned development, seen as vital to revitalizing a visible and long-blighted section of the city near Dunkin’ Park. The cost to revamp the area was originally calculated at $17 million, although the project has since expanded in scope.

The state allocated $6.3 million to the project last year as part of the Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant Program.

The construction of I-84 and riots in the 1960s and early 1970s cut off the area from the rest of the city and sped up its deterioration, according to a 2022 city study of the neighborhood, dubbed the Arrowhead Gateway.

Earlier this month the city announced it was seeking to buy the La Iglesia De Dios Church at 1313 Main St. for $625,000 to further expand the Arrowhead Gateway redevelopment efforts.

"The purchase of The La Iglesia De Dios Church represents a rare opportunity to pursue a creative adaptive reuse that will add to the envisioned community and neighborhood," Bronin said in a statement.

Speaking at the reopening of City Steam Brewery on Wednesday, Bronin emphasized the importance of the Arrowhead project.

"The redevelopment of the historic arrowhead Cafe building and Flat Iron building next door along with some of the vacant lots nearby is a really important piece of our broader economic development strategy for that neighborhood," Bronin said. "It's the first step of a broader vision for developing a number of vacant lots in that area to help with rebuilding the connections between downtown and our neighborhoods to the north."