Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal • February 22, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com has seen better days. Vacant storefronts and forlorn strip malls dot key stretches of a road that, on certain Saturdays each fall, comes alive with UConn football fans on their way to Rentschler Field. Now, a slew of potential developments, including bids to build a casino in a shuttered movie theater and an outlet mall that has bro- ken ground at Rentschler, along with United Technology Corp.'s $2 billion investment to accommodate thousands of its workers and others, are casting a fresh light on Silver Lane. The hope is, says Eileen Buckheit, East Hartford's development director, that Silver Lane's fortunes will rebound with arrival of the commercial newcomers. "People are ready for development in East Hartford,'' said Buckheit, a town native who grew up with the pizza shops, supermarkets and other retail-service vendors that once dominated Silver Lane. "We had a very good year last year as far as development. We hope that will continue this year.'' Buckheit was referring to last summer's commitment from the town's largest employ- er, Pratt & Whitney, to retain headquarters and major operations in East Hartford. Pratt also will be allowed to use $400 mil- lion in unused state tax credits to fund con- struction of a new headquarters campus at Rentschler Field. Eventually, it is envisioned that other technology driven companies and ventures would cluster around it. Outdoor retailer Cabela's has a large store on Rentschler's grounds. Chicago devel- oper Horizon Group Properties has broken ground next door and begun pre-leasing to retail tenants, including restaurants, for the 410,000-square-foot Outlet Shoppes at Rent- schler Field, set to open in 2017. The mall itself "will create a lot of jobs,'' said Horizon CEO Gary Skoien. "A lot of peo- ple who have those jobs will be from around East Hartford.'' Those workers' spending power, Skoien said, will also spur demand for products and services from not just existing Silver Lane mer- chants, but also could stimulate newcomers. In October, Horizon estimated the prop- erty will generate over 20 years $405 million in sales, property, income, corporate and excise taxes. Those figures are based on the Outlet Shoppes being the premier destination for out- let shopping in the region and attracting high- profile stores to the development; Skoien said he already has high-profile tenants lined up. Dan Matos, an East Hartford attorney turned developer who is UTC's partner in re-imagining Rentschler as a research and development/technology/retail/entertain- ment hub, said the town eventually will gar- ner all of those, and that the Silver Lane cor- ridor will thrive as a result. "UTC's vision for Rentschler,'' the founder- chief of The Matos Group said, "is for a very large technology community. We think as we advance this vision for a technology commu- nity … it will attract more people to the area.'' They will bring with them, Matos said, the need for restaurants, dry cleaners and other services, which in the long run, "will bring back the Silver Lane corridor to its earlier successful history.'' History and lore Craig Johnson has been an East Hart- ford resident and avid local-history buff for decades, moving from Manchester after he was married. Johnson recounts two bits of local lore for how Silver Lane got its name. One is that French troops, bivouacked along what was a key road in what then was still part of the Hartford settlement, traded silver coins with local merchants before linking up with George Washington's revolutionary army in upstate New York. Another is that the artery in later years housed a number of local silversmiths. Either way, the name stuck, Johnson said. For several generations after, Silver Lane was a farm road anchoring mostly tobacco and cucumber acreage, said Johnson, whose home is about a quarter mile from the corridor. Early in the 20th century, when entrepreneur Frederick B. Rentschler relocated his Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Co. across the river, into East Hartford, it settled on land where cukes once grew; a pickle factory was a neighbor. World War II sparked Silver Lane's heyday, as Pratt greatly ramped up regional hiring to churn out its "Wasp'' airplane engines. At its peak, Pratt employed as many as 40,000 in three shifts at its East Hartford plant, Johnson said. The town's population, particularly in its east and south sections, swelled. Temporary housing sprouted, along with more merchants and retail-service providers. After the war, Pratt employment remained high, as flying gained popularity among business and leisure travelers. Other employers rooted along Silver Lane were lured by the town's then low taxes, Johnson said, and its accessibility to and from all corners of the state and New England. "It was considered the crossroads of Connect- icut,'' he said, because of its proximity to Route 2, Routes 5-15, I-91 and, by the late '60s, I-84. Starting in the '50s, retail venues, includ- ing the Silver Lane Shopping Center, opened with an anchor supermarket. A bowling alley arrived, as did big-name restaurants like Pon- derosa Steak House, Denny's and Red Lob- ster. By the late '70s, the most commercial stretch of the Silver Lane right-of-way was widened to four lanes, to accommodate growing consumer and commercial traffic. But by the mid-'80s, two events occurred that eventually sucked away much of Silver Lane's verve, observers say. With the opening of the I-384 connector, linking I-84 to several key roadways through the state's eastern section, the on/off ramps on I-84 eastbound to/from Forbes Street were shut. Forbes Street is a key connector to Silver Lane. Around the same time, construction got underway on the huge regional Manchester shopping mall now known as The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. That mall's debut drew many of the shoppers from East Hartford and Manchester who once frequented Silver Lane, observers say. Future potential According to Matos, the Silver Lane cor- ridor needs infrastructure improvements to bring it into the 21st century, including more sidewalks along stretches that lack them and widening or replacing ones that already exist. The road also needs updating, with the instal- lation of turning lanes to ease the flow of traf- fic in either direction, he said. Together, those improvements would run about $3.5 million. Connecticut taxpayers have more than a passing interest in Silver Lane's fate. The quasi- public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) owns the 40,642-seat Rentschler Field stadium, where UConn's home football games are played. It, too, has hosted other sports events, mainly soccer, and several concerts. Last fall, the state Department of Transpor- tation launched limited shuttle-bus service to four UConn games via four CTfastrak buses. Official passenger tallies for the UConn shuttles are not yet available, but CRDA Exec- utive Director Michael Freimuth said interest in traveling via bus to attend football games exposes the potential of Silver Lane to attract more than gamegoers, many of whom may be inclined to return to shop or dine. "The football stadium has put the area into focus for many in the region and within the state government,'' Freimuth said via email. "Non-football events do generate some level of activity along Silver Lane. This has particularly been true with the soccer events that have filled the East Hartford hotels. The trick still remains to draw more of the regular football crowd into the neighborhood as well." The game-day shuttles served as a way to gauge ridership potential for Silver Lane and beyond, said ConnDOT transit administra- tor Michael Sanders. Sanders said CTfastrak plans to repeat the service this fall, possibly with more games. Meantime, plans are in the works, he said, to soon expand CTfastrak service to other east- of-the-river venues, including Pratt, Goodwin College, Manchester Community College and Bucklands mall. Another possibility is a CTfas- trak link between the UConn-Storrs campus to UConn Health Center in Farmington. Buckheit, East Hartford's development overseer, said the town hopes to eventually have a full-service CTfastrak station, and that Pratt has agreed to identify space at Rentschler for one. West Hartford realty broker NAI Elite has a $750,000 listing for a 28-acre parcel that TD Bank foreclosed on across from Silver Lane Shopping Center. Originally zoned for residen- tial-commercial use, wetlands on the site limit its development potential to the Silver Lane frontage, said NAI director Hugh Schnip. According to Schnip, NAI has fielded buyer inquiries from as far off as Boston and New York City, with the pace quickening since word spread of a possible casino at the former Show- case Cinemas site off Silver Lane. It is one of a handful in central and northern Connecticut competing for the state's third casino location, which could be decided soon. The East Hartford casino proposal is being led by developer Anthony J. Ravosa Jr., and his Silver Lane Partners LLC, pitching an approximately $200 million gaming venue with 2,000 slots, a 2,100-space parking garage, restaurants, bars and a dance club. Schnip said NAI has data showing 7,700 people live in 3,000 households within one mile of the TD Bank site. Within three miles, the resident head count climbs to 61,515 in 24,543 households. Those households' annual incomes average $66,716, he said. "A lot of redevelopment potential there,'' Schip said of Silver Lane. "No doubt about it.'' n from page 1 From pickles to Pratt (Clockwise from above) Artist's sketch of the Outlet Shoppes at Rentschler Field; Charter Oak Shopping Center; and shuttered Showcase Cinemas, all in the Silver Lane corridor. H B J P H O T O S | G R E G O R Y S E A Y P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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