Reader Questions About Downtown North Development

As the controversial Downtown North proposal goes to vote on Tuesday, there are still dozens of questions remaining unanswered, not to mention an outstanding FOIA request placed initially to Thomas Deller and Wayne Benjamin, and now to Maribel La Luz. Two camps seem to have emerged on this issue, and it’s not pro-stadium/anti-stadium. It’s those who find it reasonable to ask questions and expect thorough, detailed answers, and those who find critical thinking cringe-worthy.

We have been compiling reader questions since June. Here is what people still want to know about this project. Some reader questions were edited to add clarity:

• What details exist on the retail space and potential tenants?

• The City would be contributing land for the the construction of a brewery. Is it acceptable to use public funds to facilitate the production, distribution, and consumption of alcohol?

• What would the rent be for the housing? Would this fulfill the demand for the type of housing that exists in Hartford?

• How exactly would a stadium drive development? Give details. How has this occurred in cities that are comparable to Hartford in terms of population and wealth?

• Why isn’t there a proposal without a stadium?

• What documents were the task force provided with to help guide their process? What was the selection process criteria for the advisory committee/panel appointed by the development director? (This is the Real Hartford FOIA request that was placed on September 11, 2014 and has gone unfulfilled despite reminders)

• That the XL Center (Civic Center) has desired rebuild has been no secret. The space slated for the Minor League Baseball stadium could have accommodated the XL Center arena. How does the baseball stadium plan impact the likelihood of a new arena? Are there other suitable parcels in or around Downtown where an arena could fit?

• What coordination exists between the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) and the City regarding this development? Are there ways for this development to successfully co-exist with the XL Center (civic center)?

• How does this proposal work with the iQuilt or GreenWalk? In the City-solicited Utile Plan, there was talk about better connecting Downtown North to the Connecticut River area. How does this proposal fail to mention strengthening the connection to Riverside Park?

• Windsor Street is an express bicycle route in and out of Hartford northward. The Plan of Conservation and Development had a strong focus on making streets more walkable, bikeable, and livable. How does closing a portion of Windsor Street work with those other goals?

• If the City already decided it wanted to invest $60 million in Downtown North (DoNo/North Downtown), why didn’t the RFP say that? Could the City have publicized that information and then selected the best options based on that?

• There had been a number of people actively working to secure and develop and full-service grocery store and apartments in Downtown North. The City was aware of this, even being directly involved in it. That plan was underway. Why did this active plan get completely ignored, after the City of Hartford invested money in it, only to later be reactivated with leaders telling residents and the media that such development would be made possible — sparked, if you will — by a stadium?

• If most union workers are located in the suburbs and there is a 40% Hartford hiring requirement, who will be checking to see that this residence requirement is upheld? What oversight exists to ensure that workers are not remaining in the suburbs while claiming to have Hartford addresses?

• A deal is typically brought up for approval when real cost estimates (not numbers based on schematics) have been developed. If this development realistically costs around $40 million, Centerplan and the Mayor would have a $16 million slush fund. How will the money be monitored to guarantee that it is used correctly?

• All the projections in Centerplan’s proposal are based on Hartford County profiles and forecasts, which would be no problem except that county government was abolished in Connecticut on October 1, 1960. The actual median household income for 06120 (near Downtown North) in 2012 was about $20,000. That median household income for 06107 was $105,000 in 2012. Are projections based on county profiles what should be used when regionalism is not a thing?

• Centerplan pays its lender 4.75% on the debt. The city pays Centerplan 7.62%. The difference between the two is $1.6 million each year. How will the City guarantee that Centerplan will go beyond being a financial intermediary so that the City does not have to float a bond issue? How will the City of Hartford guarantee that the rest of Downtown North actually get developed?

• CRDA has had to subsidize apartment renovations at the rate of $50-60,000 per unit. How can Centerplan possibly build apartments without subsidies?

• The City of Hartford Procurement Division’s own guidelines say that it should allow 8-14 weeks for a response to a complex solicitation. Why was it deemed sufficient for the DoNo proposal to take only one month?

• Some corporations have felt pressured to support the stadium. When it comes to naming rights, sponsorships, and skybox purchases, there is a finite amount of money in the city with which to work. If the corporations feeling pressured have to go ahead and use their money in this way, some have said that the funds will come out of donations that they would have been giving to the arts and other causes that they now support. What does this mean for the individuals and organizations who would receive less benefit from corporations? Are the Mayor and City Council prepared to make up the difference?

• Does the Treasurer have an analysis of this deal? Where is it? If he is going out for a bond issue at the end of the month, his analysis must exist.

• The City had projected a $40 million deficit for the 2015-16 financial year. This adds $5 million to that deficit. What happened with that?

• How does the new citywide parking revenue plan work? Put this is layman’s terms.

• It looks like a lot of free parking will be provided for baseball games. Who is this going to be given to? Where does the money come from to support that free parking?

• What are Centerplan’s requirements for delivering pieces of the plan? If for some reason Centerplan does not deliver, what penalties would it face?

• Who is the City going to have manage the parking lots or future garages? Does this not circumvent the Hartford Parking Authority (HPA)?

• Why is the City saying that it is not responsible for capital expenses for the stadium for the term of the lease, when the lease with the Rock Cats says that it is?

City officials who have answers to any of these questions are welcome to comment here, publicly, where residents can access that information and digest it for themselves.