Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • December 23, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Joe Cooper jcooper@hartfordbusiness.com C ities like Buffalo, Pitts- burgh and Cincinnati have been able to rein- vent themselves with a slew of modern, mixed- use waterfront developments. But building along a riverway to boost a city's live, work and play profile isn't always easy. In fact, sometimes it's nearly impossible. Environmental advocates say that's largely been the case for decades in Hartford as several developers have tried but failed to come up with a commercial devel- opment that makes economic and environmental sense to build along the Connecticut River downtown. Development there has been especially difficult because of po- tential impacts to an underground levee system that curbs the level of riverfront flooding on what is widely considered the narrowest part of the Connecticut River. That is one of many challenges that will stand in the way of a New York developer who recently pro- posed building a sprawling "am- phibious" promenade with restau- rant, retail and event spaces south of the Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. George Bryant of Aqua Ark LLC says his team has the technical know-how to make two proposed riverfront developments, ranging from $9 million to $40 million, viable. Bryant says the promenade would be built on an acre of city- owned land and have the ability to float and rise with water during flood conditions using ground- breaking new technology. "We think that it's game-chang- ing that people can reimagine what floodplain construction can be," he said. "We think it has worldwide implications and we are pretty excited to show it." However, questions remain over how a riverfront development in Hartford would impact an exten- sive floodplain and an underground flood-control levee system that helps protect the river. Also, part of the land proposed for development may be contaminated as it was formerly used as a coal stock- pile in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There is also uncertainty about how utilities, supplies for vendors, emergency services and handicap ramps would make their way down to the waterfront structure. Other logistical issues include that the river beneath the nearby Found- ers Bridge is just 700 feet wide bank- to-bank. Environmental experts say the narrow segment of the 400-mile river typically triples the velocity of water flow, making it difficult for any boats attempting to access a river- front structure, environmental and other riverfront experts say. The smaller channel, among other factors, also contributes to regular flooding on Hartford's riverfront, as water elevations rise up to eight feet during rain and snowfall in the winter months. Climate change, meanwhile, is also generating more severe storms and, as a result, additional flood- ing and ice flows, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). Of course, all of these issues could be resolved, but they would require a significant investment by any devel- oper, which could make the project impracticable financially, experts say. Securing equity financing for the project would be Aqua Ark's first order of business if it believes the city supports the development, Bryant said. But they would also need to score permits and approvals from a long list of local, state and federal entities that get a say in riverfront development in the Hartford area. Aqua Ark, Bryant said, is collabo- rating with engineering firms from Germany and Westport on design- ing the floating structure, connect- ing utilities and mitigating impacts to the levee system and nearby Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. Bryant said he is confident the floating technology, similar to infrastructure used for the founda- tion of the Lumière Place Casino in St. Louis, can be successfully deployed in Hartford. "We think we can justify the in- vestment to investors," said Bryant, whose firm has built floating struc- tures overseas but not yet in the U.S. "It has to be a solid piece of engineer- ing, and a solid economic play." Seizing the moment Hartford City Councilman John Gale is well versed in the issues thwarting riverfront development. It was Gale's resolution last year that requested the city, Riverfront Recapture and Greater Hartford Flood Commission to develop proposals for marinas, houseboat moorings, restaurants or floating residences to generate economic activity along the riverway. Gale said he sees major com- mercial potential for the riverfront, which has grown into a recreational hotspot in recent decades with help from Riverfront Recapture, a nonprofit that manages Hartford's and East Hartford's riverfront parks and riverwalk trail system. It's time, he says, for the city to leverage its riverfront as an economic engine like "every other city has." Gale says Aqua Ark's proposal, or perhaps another one, offers an opportunity for the state and Army Corps of Engineers to begin discus- sions on how to upgrade the river's levee system and address other issues preventing development. "There are a number of hurdles that anyone has to jump to get any type of economic development that I want to see at the river," Gale Riverfront Roadblocks Environmental, logistical concerns present challenges to developing Hartford's waterfront A rendering of one of Aqua Ark LLC's smaller proposals to build a mixed-use promenade development on the Connecticut River in Hartford. 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