Since the ordinance’s adoption in 2022, there have been two mixed-use developments approved in West Hartford’s Transit-Oriented Development District Zone.

Rendering of The Jayden. Courtesy of The Hexagon Group

By Ronni Newton

The two mixed-use projects that received administrative approval by Town Planner Todd Dumais in 2024 represent exactly the type of development the Town Council envisioned when it adopted an ordinance to establish a Transit-Oriented Development District Zone two years ago.

The Hexagon Group began working with the town on its plans to redevelop 579 New Park Avenue in the spring of 2023. The five-story, 70-unit mixed-use development, named The Jayden,  falls within the town’s Transit-Oriented Development District Zone, and several informal study sessions were held with West Hartford’s Design Review Advisory Committee (DRAC) before the site plan for the development – which will replace the building currently occupied by Gozzo Design and Remodel – was officially submitted.

Tommy Li, principal with The Hexagon Group, grew up in the Elmwood section of West Hartford, graduated from Conard High School in 2007, and is excited about the positive impact this project – the first to fully gain approval under the terms of the new zone – will have on his hometown. This is very much a local development project. The Hexagon Group has a total of six partners – all Conard alumni – and the building is named after one of his partner’s children.

Rendering of The Jayden. Courtesy of The Hexagon Group

The Jayden will include 70 residential units, 14 of which will be guaranteed affordable for 30 years. It includes 41 two-bedroom units averaging 1,000 square feet and 29 one-bedroom units averaging 800 square feet. There will be 80 parking spaces, and amenities that include a small dog park, gym, and a library area as well as common area space to accommodate those who work from home.

The ground floor also includes two spaces for commercial occupancies, and Li said he has reached out to local businesses and is hoping for “mom and pop” type stores that will service the neighborhood.

In a previous interview, Li said they were working on their financing and hoped to break ground before then end of 2024.

Also on the horizon is another mixed-use project that falls within the TOD zone. The Elmwood Lofts development at 1051-1061 New Britain Avenue – the now-vacant former Ashley Home Furniture Outlet which many still refer to as the Puritan property since that was the business in the space for many years – was actually the first project submitted under the new zone, but owner Sami Abunasra, who purchased the 2.97-acre property for $1.1 million in 2020, later submitted revised plans that were approved on June 13, 2024, Dumais said.

Rendering of Elmwood Lofts. Courtesy of Town of West Hartford

While architectural design has not yet been finalized, the project now includes 117 residential units (a reduction from the original plan for 150 units), of which 94 will be one-bedroom and 23 will be two-bedroom units. The original plan called for 209 parking spaces, but the revised plans eliminate the underground parking leading to a reduction in both parking spaces (to 167) and to the number of residential units.

The plans for the Elmwood Lofts development, approved by Dumais, also include two restaurants at either end of the development – one at 3,445 square feet and the other a two-story, 10,860-square-foot restaurants, as well as three retail spaces ranging in size from just under 2,300 square feet to just over 3,000 square feet for a total of just over 8,500 square feet of retail space. Tenants have not yet been identified.

In January 2022, the town received a $953,646 Municipal Brownfield Grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Office of Brownfield Remediation and Development for the property at 1051-1061 New Britain Avenue, and remediation will be conducted as the demolition phase takes place. A timeline has not yet been shared.

Rendering of Elmwood Lofts. Courtesy of Town of West Hartford

The impetus behind both of these developments was the creation of West Hartford’s Transit-Oriented Development District Zoe.

In June 2022, the West Hartford Town Council unanimously adopted the ordinance – the culmination of several years of work – establishing the Transit-Oriented Development District Zone in the areas directly surrounding the Flatbush Avenue and Elmwood CTfastrak stations, with the intent of promoting the creation of mixed-use, higher-density, pedestrian-friendly development that activates the streetscape and is accessible to mass transit.

The ordinance encourages infill development in underutilized areas such as parking lots, as well as rehabilitation, and redevelopment of property located within a quarter-mile of the CTfastrak stations.

The Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zone addresses land use composition and will allow denser development, including buildings that are one story higher than in any other zone (five stories, as long as the top floor is set back), as well reduced vehicle parking requirements. It also addresses streetscape design and urban form, and will require new construction to have street-facing entrances. The ordinance includes a variety of built-in incentives for developers to encourage affordable housing, fewer curb cuts, the creation of public space, and sustainability.

The “four D’s” of transit-oriented development, Dumais said during a presentation to the Council during the discussion of the ordinance, are: distance (a five- to 10-minute or quarter- to half-mile walk from a transit hub); density (relatively high); diversity (a diverse mix of land uses to create vibrant live, work, and play opportunities); and design (pedestrian friendly, public realm building design, compact development, and well-designed parking to promote transit use).

More than 100 properties are located within the TOD zone, and most of the redevelopment that meets the TOD criteria can be approved either through a site plan application or administratively by the town planner, without need for the more lengthy process of hearings and establishment of a Special Development District.

Along with the establishment of the TOD District, other long-planned improvements for New Park Avenue are on the horizon. The town has secured $3.7 million in total funding for that work secured through multiple sources and design work is underway for long-planned updates to the streetscape, which are part of the New Park Avenue Complete Streets plan and include a road diet to slow traffic and increase safety, a two-way separated bicycle facility, landscaping, way finding signage, and sidewalk enhancements and other pedestrian amenities. The plan addresses New Park Avenue between Flatbush Avenue and New Britain Avenue, as well as the connection to the Trout Brook Multi-Use Trail.

The total construction cost is estimated at $3.8 million ($3.7 million will be funded through grants) and construction is now expected to begin in 2025.

In the past several years, other developments in the TOD have included GastroPark, a thriving food truck park and experiential dining experience that opened in 2020, and 540 New Park, a mixed-use, mixed-income property developed by Trout Brook Realty Advisors. And when long-time West Hartford restaurant owner Ted Vetter recently decided to retire and close The Corner Pug, that property was immediately snapped up by award-winning chef Ashley Flagg, who plans to open her first restaurant, The Laurel, at 1046 New Britain Avenue in early 2025.

While permits have not yet been filed, work on both of the recently-approved mixed-use developments should begin relatively soon.

The Hexagon Group has been operating as a general contractor on various construction projects, which Li said have been stepping stones to this much more comprehensive project.

“For us to be able to take advantage of [the new ordinance] and what the town wants to see in the TOD zone, to use the regulations to promote more housing” is exciting, Li said. He is hopeful that this project will support the town’s goal of promoting additional development and redevelopment in the TOD zone.

Rendering of The Jayden. Courtesy of The Hexagon Group

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