Journal Inquirer
"I'm not concerned at at all. We're taking a grand plan and making it a reality, but we're doing it in manageable chunks," Martin said Wednesday. "They're being real and I appreciate that."
The project, known as Port Eastside, is expected to have 1,000 apartment units at full build-out, but the developers, Hartford -based Lexington Partners , have decided to start with a first phase of 300 apartments overlooking the Connecticut River on the site of the former Bank of America building. There will be four floors of housing built on top of a 20-foot-tall ground floor that would accommodate parking and commercial space. An outdoor pool and a courtyard are planned for the first level of housing.
The total cost of the project — originally announced as $840 million , though likely to be reduced as aspects of it are trimmed — includes $125 million to $150 million in public improvements, according to the developers.
Christopher Reilly , president of Lexington Partners , said Thursday that even though interest rates have started to stabilize, they are still high and lenders have taken a step back, prompting the company to rethink the roll-out of the project.
"We're phasing out the project in more manageable increments," he said.
Reilly said the financial factors will also have an impact on how quickly the first phase, which will cost $110 million to $120 million , will begin construction.
"The lenders have to come back to the market," he said, adding that they hope to begin construction during the second quarter of 2025 with completion in about two years.
Reilly said that he hoped that the planned pedestrian bridge would become a reality at some point, but added that they are going to focus on housing first.
Plans for a Hartford HealthCare presence and a transportation hub are also aspects of the project that are still in the works, he said.
Regardless of the change in the immediate scope of the project, Martin said that it gives residents more time to understand what will be happening on the property and adjust to a large influx of new residents. It will also allow the town, he says, to gauge how that will affect town services, such as schools and public safety.
The phased-in approach, Martin said, will make it easier for the town to make adjustments, if needed, and to assure that they are getting the tax revenue they need to offset any new costs and avoid raising taxes.
But the project is also moving forward now. Martin said that a special meeting is scheduled for Monday to sign a demolition agreement. The state has supported the project with $6.5 million through the Capital Region Development Authority for demolition of 50-year-old, 183,000-square-foot building.
Reilly said that because they are receiving public money for demolition they have to go out to bid, which he expected to take 60 to 90 days. The Bank of America building will also need some remediation before it's torn down. The hope is to demolish the building this summer.
On other development fronts, Martin said he expected demolition on the former Silver Lane Plaza main building to begin any day now and that ground should be broken soon on the former Showcase Cinemas site, which will also feature amenity-rich apartments.
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