Hartford in Progress july1012 - Hartford Police Department - City of ...

June, 2012 Hartford Progress: An Update on One City, One Plan Hartford News Special Edition 11ADRIAEN’S LANDING,A WORK IN PROGRESSDowntown Livingmusic venue for over 9,000 squarefeet of space and we are in theprocess of finalizing a lease with apremier, national restaurant. Withthese three anchors in place, thefirst phase of the project will be60% leased. We are in discussionswith a number of other restaurantconcepts that are interested in joiningthese three anchors.”Spotlight, with several locationsin Georgia and Florida has a uniquephilosophy about their business.Last year, Spotlight held a chairselection contest. The chairs used inthe theatre will actually be thechoice of the future customers. It’snot just about showing movies, it’sabout being part of the community.“We are very excited to have theconstruction progress in high gearat our new Spotlight Theatres FrontStreet location. There is overwhelmingsupport from the publicfor our theatre and the chairs thatwere chosen from the “Pick YourSeat” campaign are currently inSince the mid-1990s, hundreds of residential housing units have come online in Downtown Hartford. Until that time, the city’s central businessdistrict had virtually no residents following the urban renewal efforts of the1960s which demolished the old East Side Neighborhood. There are nowthousands more “Downtowners” than there were just 15 years ago. Thedevelopment of retail establishments to serve Downtown residents – andthe thousands who work Downtown – is starting to pick up. With the longawaitedopening of the first phase of the Front Street complex just aroundthe corner (see story at left), Downtown is poised on the verge of a longperiod of sutained growth. At this point, opportunities still abound fordevelopers and potential residents to join in this growth.5 Constitution Plaza,former Sonesta Hotel200 Residential Units & Retail,Estimated $22 million ProjectCost. Developer: WonderWorksDevelopment777 Main StreetThe Front Street section of Adriaen’s Landing in Downtown Hartford.Spotlight Theatres is now under construction at the site. The 720 seat, 4screen theater, which includes a full bar and restaurant, is scheduled toopen in the fall.Adriaen’s Landing is not a place,but a destination. The ConnecticutConvention Center, celebrated itsseventh anniversary on June 5 andit has business booked as far out as2017. The Convention Center hashosted over 1300 events, includingsuch prestigious and high-profilegatherings as the inaugural balls ofGovernor Dannel P. Malloy andHartford’s Mayor Pedro Segarra,but its real evidence of success is inits repeat business. It’s the exceptionalservice customers experienceat the Convention Center that keepsthem coming back.“Groups such as St. Francis’Miracle Ball, ConnectiCon, PriceChoppers, STITCHES, NationalAssociation of Campus Activitiesand the Islamic Circle of NorthAmerica have held their events atAdriaen’s Landing for almost aslong as we’ve been open and willreturn in 2013”, according toMichael Costelli, general managerof the Convention Center. “We continueto win business from our competitorsin Virginia, Pennsylvania,Rhode Island, Maryland andupstate New York.”The Connecticut Science Center,(Science Center) opened for businessthree years ago on June 12. Ithas seen well over 800,000 visitorsand expects to reach the one-millionmark this year. It’s been a successfulattraction for schools, familiesand the professional communitywith its dynamic exhibits andextremely popular Liquid Loungereceptions.With all of the success, it hasn’talways been smooth sailing for theAdriaen’s Landing plan. The FrontStreet development has experiencedsome setbacks over the last12 years. The project attracted afew developers before The NBNitkin Group was able to bringPhase I of Front Street to fruition.Thanks to the reputation andindustry expertise of HB Nitkin, thegood news is the location hasattracted the interest of othernationally-known entities who findHartford to be a prime choice fortheir business.“We have made great strides inleasing the Front Street Districtover the past 12 months. SpotlightTheatres, the 720 seat, 4 screen theater,which includes a full bar andrestaurant, is under constructionand poised to open in the fall”, saysHelen Nitkin, chairman of The HBNitkin Group. “In addition, wehave signed a lease with a liveproduction”, states Joe Paletta ofSpotlight Theatres. “In just a fewshort months the theatre, restaurantand bar will be complete and readyto provide a full entertainmentexperience and together with a livemusic venue and national restaurantcoming to Adriaen’s Landing, FrontStreet is going to be the perfectplace and one stop shop for foodand entertainment. “It’s important for Hartford-basedcorporations to attract a skilled andtalented workforce. Important tothe corporate recruiting effort is avibrant city with attractive housingoptions. Now that Phase I of thedevelopment has shown success,Nitkin can focus on Phase II, housingto support the demand for livingspace in downtown Hartford (seestory at right).“HB Nitkin is also moving forwardon a portion of Phase II – theconstruction of a 115-unit residentialbuilding with additional groundfloor retail uses. We are currentlyworking with lenders to securefinancing for the development”,says Helen Nitkin. “Overall, webelieve the project will provide diningoptions for guests of the variousAdriaen’s Landing venues, as wellas the downtown office population,during the daytime and be the entertainment/diningdestination ofchoice for residents of the GreaterHartford area in the evenings”Adriaen’s Landing is a 10-yearold vision that has become a successfulreality.286 Residential Units,Estimated Project Cost $80million. Developer: Becker &Becker95- 101 & 111 PearlStreet205 Residential Units &Retail, Estimated ProjectCost $50 million. Developer:TBD