4 Hartford Business Journal • August 24, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com
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Eagle Financial Credit Union, which was the first
tenant to commit to the mixed-use development.
Both companies are expected to begin operat-
ing when the building debuts sometime this fall,
said Bryant Harrell, Goodwin's vice president for
physical facilities, IT and security. Up to four more
tenants — including retailers, medical offices and
other businesses — could occupy the remaining
available space on the second and third floors.
According to plans, the commercial site on
Main and Ensign streets will feature flexible
space for the 4,000 daily student population
and some 600 faculty/staff at Goodwin. It will
also provide on-site parking and access to the
CTtransit bus route.
While Goodwin is a not-for-profit college,
the building is projected to add about $1.3 mil-
lion to East Hartford's tax rolls over an eight-
year period and is part of the school's larger
10-year master plan of development.
In 2018, Goodwin announced an ambitious re-
development vision that included construction of
a 60-slip marina and riverfront hotel and restau-
rants, and those projects are still in play, Harrell
said, though the pandemic has slowed progress.
Still, developers are showing interest in the
potential development and a new stormwa-
ter drainage system is being installed that
will make it possible to build more and larger
buildings along the Connecticut River.
That should help entice developers to the
area, Buckheit said.
Goodwin owns the majority of the Connecti-
cut River neighborhood it inhabits on and
around Riverside Drive.
Founders Plaza
East Hartford's most notable office building
— the half-century-old Founders Plaza office
tower on Pitkin Street — is being eyed for a
mixed-use residential-retail center with up to
2,000 new apartment units.
The town has partnered with building owner
First Merchant Group (led by Larry Nirenberg),
CRDA and Tecton Architects on a district mas-
ter plan to create a new "live, work, play" urban
destination, which the town currently lacks.
The plan estimates an initial buildout of
250 or so residential units, with a potential to
develop up to 2,000 units in the future.
The 12.5-acre site is covered by parking lots
suitable for infill development that could take
advantage of being a stone throw's away from
downtown Hartford, Buckheit said.
"When Founders Plaza was built in the
1970s it was supposed to be higher-density de-
velopment, but it never came to fruition," she
said. "It's a very important gateway to us."
Buckheit views the project — now called
"East Bank" — as a public-private partnership
that she would like to see happen sooner, rather
than later, although the COVID-19 pandemic
has likely delayed things a bit.
There is no official project timeline right now.
"We are trying to walk very carefully on this," she
said. "It's an ambitious and important plan."
>> Town Profile continued
East Hartford
General
Land area (sq. miles) 18
Median age 38
Population 53,241
Median household income $52,049
Unemployment rate 13%
Major Employers
Pratt & Whitney
Goodwin College
Riverside Health Center
Town of East Hartford
Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New
England
Housing stock
Median price $159,800
Median rent $979
Government
Total revenue (2017) $214,691,000
Per capita tax $2,444
Actual mill rate 49.92
Grand List $2,811,967,294
Economy
Top employment industries Units Employment
Administrative and
waste services 106 3,839
Professional, scientific,
and technical services 167 3,356
Health care and
social assistance 103 2,446
Top taxpayers (2018)
United Technologies Corp. $502,111,500
Goodwin College $126,708,080
Eversource $49,364,430
Source: AdvanceCT
A rendering of the vision to build up to 2,000
apartments around the Founders Plaza office tower.
RENDERING
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