Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 19, 2022 Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin speaks to local merchants about the city's Hart Lift program, which provides COVID-relief grant money to landlords to help them outfit vacant commercial space for new restaurants and retailers. HBJ PHOTO | MICHAEL PUFFER Not seeking reelection, Bronin's key remaining challenges include downtown office retreat By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com H artford Mayor Luke Bronin came into office in 2016 facing a fiscal crisis threatening bank- ruptcy and a baseball stadium project that, as he describes it, had "gone off the rails." As Bronin looks toward his final year in office — having announced his intention not to run for reelection — he faces another outsized challenge: a hollowing out of downtown Hartford office buildings. "The biggest risk to our tax base going forward and the biggest risk to our fiscal strength is the challenge in the commercial office market," Bronin said in a recent interview with the Hart- ford Business Journal. "Those large commercial office buildings represent a significant share of our property tax base and there's no question that the world of work has changed that. The value of those buildings has already changed as a result." The office market is struggling broadly as companies continue to embrace a remote or hybrid work model made popular during the pandemic. That was reflected in the city's recent revaluation, which saw office values drop amid rising vacancy rates. For example, the assessed market value of Hartford's largest office tower, City Place I, sank from $103.4 million in 2020 to $82.3 million in 2021, down 20.4%. The diminishing corporate presence is a critical concern for Hartford. Not only are office buildings a big part of the city's tax base, but the corpo- rate workers who inhabit them have formed the base of an economic food chain that has fed city retailers and restaurants for decades. Bronin's response to this challenge remains consistent: a continued focus on apartment development, particu- larly in the downtown. His administration also funded the Hart Lift program, which provides landlords incentives to outfit ground- floor retail space for new restaurants and other small merchants. The $6.4 million allocated to the program has been fully awarded to 56 businesses, many of which will be located downtown. Here are Bronin's economic development priorities in 2023 By Michael Puffer mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com H artford Mayor Luke Bronin can tout a long list of economic development accomplishments as he stares down his final year in office, but he still has much to advance before he leaves City Hall. "There are a lot of projects underway and a lot of exciting economic development opportunities throughout our neighborhoods and downtown," Bronin said. The redevelopment of the historic Pratt Street retail corridor will be a big focus, Bronin said. The city's $6.4 million Hart Lift program — which offers matching grants of up to $150,000 to help outfit first-floor spaces for new retail shops and restaurants — has already helped landlords find tenants for every storefront along Pratt Street. Bronin, in spring, signed off on keeping Pratt Street sealed off to motorists, leaving the brick-lined thoroughfare open for outdoor dining and events. A partnership among Shel- bourne Global Solutions, developer Martin Kenny and investor Alan Lazowski recently completed conversion of office space at 99 Pratt St. into 97 apartments as part of a broader $59 million investment. "I think the residential conver- sion on the south side of Pratt Street helps reinforce the prog- ress we've made establishing Pratt Street as a center of retail, restaurant and gathering space," Bronin said. Neighborhood projects Bronin said he is eager to see progress with planned develop- ments along Route 44, a portion of which underwent a $30-million streetscape improvement begin- ning in 2017. That list includes a proposal to build a 2,502-square-foot retail building and 38,000-square-foot ONE MORE YEAR Continued on page 13 Continued on page 13

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