West Hartford has been awarded nearly $900,000 in state Brownfield grants to clean up two vacant properties, paving the way for a new housing development and the expansion of a local theater.

By Mia Jaworski

Officials, including Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, were in West Hartford on Wednesday morning to celebrate the awarding of two Brownfield remediation grants applied for by the town, totaling nearly $900,000, that will be split between two locations.

The awarding of the grants was first announced in June.

Hexagon New Park LLC, led by Elmwood natives Tommy and Jason Li, will receive $688,000 for demolition and remediation of 579 New Park Avenue, a 1.21-acre site that the Hexagon Group plans to develop into The Jayden. An additional $200,000 will fund the remediation of the former A.C. Petersen Ice Cream production facility on Park Road, enabling Playhouse on Park to expand.

The New Park Avenue project is part of a larger $18.8 million statewide initiative by Gov. Ned Lamont to remediate 227 acres of contaminated land.

The program, administered through the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development’s (DECD) Brownfield Remediation and Development Program, supports 23 properties in 19 towns, attracting an estimated $218 million in private investment and facilitating 450 housing units. Approximately 52 percent of the funding is allocated to distressed municipalities.

“This is about taking underutilized, dirty sites and making them vibrant again,” West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor said Wednesday. “It’s about creating places people want to live, work, and gather.”

Bysiewicz praised West Hartford as a model for affordable housing. “Other communities across the state should pay attention,” she said.

The Jayden: A Mixed-Use Neighborhood

The $688,000 grant will support The Jayden, a five-story, 70-unit mixed-use building with ground-floor retail in West Hartford’s recently-established Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Zone. Fourteen of the units, or 20%, will be income-restricted for 40 years, for households earning up to 80% of the area median income (AMI) and two units for households at 60% AMI.

Hexagon began planning for the site in spring 2023. The property, currently home to Gozzo Design and Remodel, went through several informal sessions with West Hartford’s Design Review Advisory Committee before the site plan was officially submitted.

The redevelopment will replace the site’s layered industrial past, which included a heavy equipment sales and service shop, a bus company, and most recently a kitchen remodeling showroom.

The Transit-Oriented Development Zone was established in June 2022. This encompasses 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 Transit-Oriented Development 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.

Local Roots and Community Commitment

Tommy and Jason Li, West Hartford natives and Conard High graduates, co-founded The Hexagon Group eight years ago with four other Conard alumni. Their mission: to invest in communities they know and love.

“Eight years ago, when our group first came together, we made a promise: we want to invest in places we know and love,” Tommy Li said. “For me, that means right here, Elmwood. So to us, this project isn’t just a noted development on the map. It’s part of my story, and part of many people’s stories here today.”

Li emphasized the broader vision for The Jayden. “We’re creating more than just housing. We’re creating a walkable, connected neighborhood where residents can shop locally, hop on CTfastrak – and hopefully, in the future, a train – and feel truly at home,” he said.

The project site is also located at the end of Trout Brook Trail, a nearly 4-mile-long paved path that stretches from New Park Avenue to Asylum Avenue and provides a safe, enjoyable route for walking, running, and cycling.

West Hartford as a Model

Bysiewicz praised West Hartford for its leadership in affordable housing.

“West Hartford is a model for how to build affordable housing,” she said. “What’s very exciting is that because they are building lots of affordable housing, there are lots of people that want to move here. People of all walks of life want to come to live in your town. Other communities across the state should pay attention.”

This comes after the completion of the Camelot in May 2025, a 100% affordable housing development in downtown West Hartford, and highlights the town’s ongoing efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities.

In addition to the $688,000 New Park Avenue grant, the town was awarded a $200,000 award for assessment in advance of remediation of the former A.C. Petersen Ice Cream plant on Park Road. This will allow Playhouse on Park to expand its facilities to the second story of the existing Park Road building, maintaining and enhancing the organization’s role as a cultural and economic asset for West Hartford.

Turning Brownfields into Opportunity

Amanda Limacher, lead for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Brownfield Program, said the redevelopment illustrates the potential of previously underutilized industrial sites.

“Redeveloping sites like this taps into existing infrastructure while eliminating environmental hazards,” Limacher said.

DECD Deputy Commissioner Matt Pugliese added that under the Lamont/Bysiewicz administration, the state has helped remediate over 2,200 acres and has contributed $10 million annually to the Brownfields program.

“These sites often have a common history of industrial use in the middle of neighborhoods,” Pugliese said. “Putting them back into productive use restores vibrancy, value, and tax revenue to the community – whether that’s housing, retail, or commercial space.”

With approvals moving forward and funding secured, The Jayden is poised to transform a long-vacant parcel into a cornerstone of Elmwood’s revitalized neighborhood, providing homes for young families, teachers, public servants, and others who sustain the community.

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