The last question in the Metro Hartford Alliance debate was what each candidate would do to rehabilitate the long-vacant parcel on the corner of Main Street & Asylum Street, a parcel near the debate venue downtown. Embarrassingly, City staff confirmed on Thursday that the Hartford Redevelopment Authority (HRA) plan for that very parcel — the Trumbull-Asylum-Main Redevelopment Plan — is set to expire next month, without anything having come of it.
That the Mayor’s office has done nothing to facilitate the City’s own redevelopment plans is shameful. And it’s not just at Main & Asylum. The lots on Woodland & Albany and Park & Main have also been designated by the HRA for redevelopment for years, and nothing has come of them, either. This hurts our neighborhoods beyond downtown.
At the debate, I said, “I don’t just want to talk about the lot right here downtown; let’s talk about the vacant lot that’s on the corner of Woodland and Albany Avenue, a key corridor in our city that’s been vacant for years and years and is overgrown and covered with trash and drags down a whole neighborhood that should be vibrant. The same is true on the corner of Park and Main, a strategic lot right there… Let’s remember, this has to be about raising up an entire city, and making sure everybody feels part of it.” And here’s the full answer: