Town Manager Rick Ledwith announced that the public hearing regarding the 1800 Asylum portion of the former UConn West Hartford campus will be held on Feb. 11, 2025.

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith announced Wednesday that the public hearing to consider rezoning and creating a Special Development District for the construction of the mixed use Heritage Park on the western portion of the former UConn West Hartford campus will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Room 314 of Town Hall.

The hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19, but it was announced two weeks ago that there would be a postponement. While the Dec. 19 date remains on the town’s calendar, all that will take place at that time will be the opening of the hearing and the announcement of it being continued to Feb. 11, without any presentation or opportunity for public comment.

Ledwith said the delay in holding the public hearing was needed to allow for the receipt and review of updates to the project’s traffic and parking studies.

“I appreciate the applicant’s ongoing collaboration with town staff to ensure the Town Council and the public have all the necessary information to fully evaluate and discuss the merits of the application,” Ledwith said in a statement. “Delays like this are common with large-scale projects, and I look forward to future discussions about the potential redevelopment of this property.”

A public hearing had been set for Dec. 19 after the Council officially received at its Nov. 12, 2024 meeting an application “filed on behalf of WeHa Development Group, LLC, owner of 1800 Asylum Avenue, for change of zone of approximately 33.5 acres of the site from a R-10 single-family zone to a BS shopping center zone with Special Development District Designation (SDD) overlay for the redevelopment of the site into a new mixed-use development of commercial and residential uses along with associated parking and site amenities.”

WeHa Development Group’s plans for 1800 Asylum call for demolition of the remaining buildings that were part of the former UConn campus, and construction of 11 new buildings of one to four stories. Included in the plan for Heritage Park are 93 residential apartments, one- and two-bedroom units, with 5% proposed as deed-restricted to be affordable for family incomes at or below the 80% area median income. The plans also include 19 townhomes available for purchase, six duplex townhomes, 90 units of assisted living, a 26,488-square-foot organic grocery store, roughly 42,800 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and a 42,600 square foot spa.

The Town Plan & Zoning Commission (TPZ) also delayed taking action on the official referral of the application from the Town Council that was on the agenda for its meeting on Monday, Dec. 2. TPZ must act on the application prior to the Town Council’s vote.

While in August the TPZ, in its capacity as West Hartford’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency (IWWA), approved the wetlands application for 1800 Asylum, the western portion of the former UConn campus, as part of the rezoning and SDD process the TPZ must vote to determine whether or not the proposal for Heritage Park is consistent with the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD).

Also as part of the required process, the application was also officially referred to the Design Review Advisory Committee (DRAC) which on Nov. 14 voted unanimously, 5-0, to recommend approval of the project. DRAC had previously conducted 13 study sessions as part of the informal review process, and the recommendation letter praises the willingness of the applicant to incorporate many of the revisions suggested by DRAC during the review process.

Last week, the Town Council voted unanimously to accept the donation of property owned by the Heritage Park developer through the entity West Hartford 1 LLC, at 1700 Asylum Avenue that currently includes the Miracle League Field as well as several other ballfields, a playground, and basketball court – ensuring continued use of those facilities for the public.

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