Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • November 6, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 13 for an office tower. By Oct. 2013, he had put forward a replacement plan, calling for a $55 million, 195-unit apartment building, Residences At River View, with about 18,000 square feet of commercial space. That plan stalled as well, said Capital Region Develop- ment Authority Executive Director Michael Freimuth, because it relied heavily on public funding, including from the state Depart- ment of Housing and the city. In 2014, Islam won city approval for a third site proposal, this one for a smaller, $17 million tower, with 17,000 square feet of retail and 49 upscale apartments. That one, Freimuth said, envisioned $4.9 million of CRDA financing, $8 million in bank financ- ing, and the rest from other sources. When that project also stalled, CRDA chan- neled its funds into other downtown and regional Hartford developments, Fre- imuth said. There have even been talks about turning the vacant former Broadcast House space into a temporary park, but that too never materialized. But Islam still isn't giving up his hopes of making his mark on downtown Hartford. He said he now envisions a two-phased develop- ment, starting with a three-story parking garage initially on the Broadcast House site, with at least one of the levels below grade. With 120 to 140 spaces, the garage would fill downtown's need for convenient parking, he said. Down the road, Islam said, the sturdily de- signed and built garage could accommodate several tiers of apartments and street-level retail space. However, whether there is a need for another center-city parking garage remains a question. Outgoing Hartford Parking Authority CEO Eric Boone said that, while overall the city currently has more than enough park- ing capacity, it isn't evenly spread. There is, he said, limited but heavily used public park- ing available in Constitution Plaza South and State House Square. "Adding a garage at the foot of a major entrance to the city,'' Boone said, "could be a very positive addition to help reduce conges- tion and encourage walking." Sara Bronin, chair of the city's planning and zoning commission, noted city zon- ing rules bar construction of free-standing parking garages in downtown. Bronin, too, pointed to the city's aim to promote mobility options other than cars in the center city. In response, Islam said he is aware of the city's parking-garage prohibition, but his vision matches feedback from neighboring landlords whom he said have told him the area needs more parking spots. He said he has yet to approach the city about his vision. "My plan,'' he said, "would include a phased-in approach to the entire project and meet all city zoning requirements." Bid pricing The reason for shelving in 2016 his rede- velopment of 3 Constitution Plaza into 49 apartments, Islam said, had less to do with support from the city and the Capital Region Development Authority to erect the tower than it was overpriced construction bids. Both, he said, pledged significant financial support to go with his $8 million in bank financing. "It was the lack of competitive contractors in the market," Islam said. Only two contractors submitted build- ing bids, he said, one of which was Centerplan Cos., the Middletown contractor whom the city hired — and later fired — to build its Dunkin' Donuts minor-league ballpark. Centerplan did not respond to requests for comment. Centerplan's $21 million construction bid for the tower was $5 million more than Islam's in-house estimate, Islam said. The other bid from a contractor Islam did not name was just $16,000 below Centerplan's. The overestimate, Islam said, was yet another example of the wide, often uneven range of bid pricing in the U.S. construc- tion sector, where large and mid-sized firms compete against each other and smaller "mom-and-pop" builders. He said he wasn't surprised when Hartford's ballpark expe- rienced cost overruns. Centerplan was the stadium's original contractor before the city fired the company and hired a new one. With $4 million of his own money invest- ed to buy and raze Broadcast House, Islam said, "it didn't make economic sense for me to put in another $5 million. Stupid me. ... I thought somebody was out to get me. That's why I bailed out.'' Despite those setbacks, Islam said he has always believed that his tower could be an asset to the city. For now, though, it's an idea that will have to wait. He said he has rejected several offers to sell the tract. Hartford's development office declined comment. A CRDA official said the quasi-public agency has not been in contact lately with Islam. "I could build a parking garage one, two, three, no problem," Islam said. "But I'm not selling the property. Why would I sell when I've put in all that time and money?" PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED HBJ PHOTO | GREG BORDONARO The old Broadcast House space in downtown Hartford remains vacant. AI Engineers promotes an open workspace. Husky-sized plan options at Chihuahua-sized prices. 1 Oxford HMO products are underwritten by Oxford Health Plans (CT), Inc. Oxford insurance products are underwritten by Oxford Health Insurance, Inc. 2 UnitedHealthcare Service Statistics average for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey Oxford plan members from Jan. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016, based upon United Experience Surveys. Source: Internal Consumer and Customer Call Center Metrics. 3 Based on an analysis of Oxford Freedom Network plans in Connecticut compared to Oxford Liberty Network plans in Connecticut. 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