Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development
METRO CENTER SHOPPING CENTER Revolving Loan Fund Grant
A Decode-Long Dream Becomes Reality in Hartford
ADDRESS:
PROPERTY SIZE:
BUILDING SIZE:
FORMER USES:
CURRENT USES:
1888-1954 Main Street, Hartford, CT, 06109
4.2 acres
40,000 square feet
Gas station, auto repair, residential and commercial
structures, dye works, state arsenal
Retail shopping center
EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
The Connecticut Department of
Economic and Community
Development provided a
$160,000 brownfields loan to
Public Housing Residents Going
Places, Inc. for cleanup activities.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
Hartford Economic Development
Commission, U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, Connecticut
Economic Development Fund, Connecticut
Development Authority, People's Bank, City
of Hartford, Hartford Housing Authority
Hartford |
CONNECTICUT
For additional data and geographic information for this
and other Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA's:
Envirofacts -www.epa.gov/enviro/html/bms/bms query.html
Enviromapper - www.epa.gov/enviro/bf
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
The property is located in the Clay Arsenal neighborhood, one of the most distressed and impoverished areas in the City of Hartford, with a
poverty rate greater than 50 percent. More than half of all local households do not possess a car and one in 10 homes do not have a
telephone. The neighborhood began to decline in the 1960s with escalating poverty and joblessness. The neighborhood has been without a
supermarket for years forcing residents to ride the bus across the city to shop for fresh produce and basic groceries. The property's history
dates as far back as the 1800s when it was occupied by astate arsenal. It became the site of adye works facility in the 1920s and agas
station from approximately 1929 to 1973. Other past uses include residential structures, commercial and retail businesses, and an auto
repair facility. The property remained vacant for more than 30 years until the city transferred ownership to Public Housing Residents Going
Places, Inc., a non-profit organization, in September 2003. Site investigations revealed underground petroleum storage tanks and petroleum-
contaminated soil at the property.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Eight underground petroleum storage tanks were excavated and approximately 500
cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil were removed.
• Approximately 50 jobs and more than $6.2 million in public and
private funding leveraged for construction and redevelopment.
• The project was a finalist in the Inner City/Urban category for the
2005 Team Connecticut "EDDY" award, which recognizes excellence
in advancing economic development and positively impacting Connecticut's economy.
M
The completed Metro Center Shopping Center.
OUTCOME:
The grand opening event for the new40,000-square-foot Metro Center Shopping Center, hosted by Mayor Eddie Perez, took place on
January 13,2006. The shopping center is home to seven retail tenants including: a Save-A-Lot grocery store, a Family Dollar store, a
laundromat, a hair salon, a Chinese restaurant, a Cingular Wireless store, and a clothing and shoe store. The income from the rent paid by
the retail tenants will be used for maintenance and payment of the debt service with the proceeds flowing back to Public Residents Going
Places, Inc. for local programs. The new shopping center provides neighborhood residents with convenient shopping as well as much-
needed employment opportunities. After 10 years of planning by multiple partners and overcoming financial barriers, this project now serves
as a model for future revitalization of other Hartford neighborhoods and demonstrates the effectiveness of community involvement in
brownfields cleanup and redevelopment.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region I at (617) 918-1 I 11
------- |