Looking For A House? UConn Puts Hogan's House On Market

Got a spare $1 million dollars? If so, your in luck, the University of CT is selling the former president's home. The home which sits at 88 Gurleyville Rd. is refinished with state money and read for someone to move right in. Mansfield town records state that the house increased in value almost $40,000 in one year to its current assessment of $907,000. The property taxes are $16,326 per year. So if your a Uconn student and need housing, just find 30 more roommates to share this wonderful "party house." 

Savin Rock Company Opens in Hartford

The Savin Rock Company has opened at 960 Main Street Hartford. The restaurant is known for it's slow roasted meats and deli type sandwiches. Breakfast is also served all day with the famous Baronett Coffee. This is the restaurant's first location in central Connecticut. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday 7am to 9pm. 

The "Other Capitol"- Capitol West Building

Capitol West Building

Built: ????

The Capitol West Building Stands right next to I-84 West Asylum Street exit and acts as a terrible gateway into Hartford. In terms of future land use, it is envisioned that the Capitol West office building be redeveloped as a transit-oriented development possibly including structured parking and a pedestrian connection with the corporate campus across Spring Street to support Union Station’s transition to a commuter rail and bus station. The transit oriented development will require part of the building to be demolished. Plans to redevelop the Capitol West building by shady developer Joshua Guttman into 97 mostly-1 bedroom residential units fell flat and now it only houses homeless people now. Guttman has been known to not being a stranger to having fires conveniently consuming properties he wants to develop. Hope he does us a favor and lights the Capitol West Building up. Guttman planned to invest $12 million into the project however the economy stopped the project. Guttman paid only $1 million for the building, a cheap $6 a square foot.  Construction begun in 2006 with workers removing windows, however that same construction halted the project after asbestos was found. Guttman has faced up to $3 million dollars in fines for the unmaintained building but its unclear how those fines were handled. The other problem with the development was parking, there would be only enough room for 55 spaces in the building, so other parking near the building would have to be sought. 

Colt Gateway-Is It History?

Colt Factory Complex
Built: 1855
Status: Flunking


The Colt Factory Building sits on the side of I-91 with its onion shaped blue dome. Its in the process of being redeveloped but due to the economy, investors have had problem keeping up with the restoration and upkeep of existing apartments. The developer is also having trouble attracting retailers into the building, originally there were plans for a coffee shop to open in the building. The apartments come in 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and lofts. The developer's goal is to link residents to downtown's Adriaen's Landing and Front Street plus the option to use various nearby highways for travel.

Heres a few pictures of the interior:

Other problems with the building is the possibility that it is haunted. Reports of paranormal activity have been reported by tenants. Sounds of a large boulder falling on the floor above and rolling have been heard by tenants on every floor, including the top floor. Also, apparitions have been reported wearing workers clothes from the 1800s with footsteps being heard in empty rooms. 

This place might be a great place to live eventually, but right now the development is failing.

The Park River (Bushnell Park). Yes Its Real.....

Park River flowing thru Hartford

Check out the picture above. Something seem strange to you? How bout a river running right down the center of Bushnell Park. The Park River once entered Bushnell Park near the State Armory and crossed where Asylum, Ford and Jewell Street now are. The river was a great source of energy for mills in Hartford, but it was also the source of large flooding especially in 1936 and 1938. The Army Corps of Engineers decided to construct an underground tunnel covering the river. The tunnel runs under the park-Pulaski Circle, Main Street, Hartford Public Library and the Conland Whitehead Highway before it empties into the CT River. The entire project was completed in the early 1980s, it spans more than 9 miles and cost an estimated $100 million. If you feel adventurous you can access the river by the University of Hartford and kayak or canoe for about 6 miles in the very polluted river until you reach the tunnel just before the Mark Twain House. 


Here is an article from the New York Times about a journalists voyage down the river:


http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/31/nyregion/paddling-hartford-s-scenic-sewer-abused-underground-river-up-close-noxious.html

New Britain-Hartford Busway

A concept for the New Britain Station

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) is proposing to construct the New Britain-Hartford Busway, a 9.4-mile exclusive bus rapid transit (BRT) system operating in an existing and abandoned railroad right-of-way on a new two-way roadway between downtown New Britain and downtown Hartford’s Union Station.  The corridor runs largely parallel to Interstate 84, the region’s most congested highway and the primary transportation link between New Britain, West Hartford, and downtown Hartford. The actual stops are: Union Place, Sigourney St. , Park St., Kane St., Flatbush Ave., Corbins Corner, Uconn Health Center, Cedar St, East St, New Britain station, Bristol Station, Southington Park and Ride, Milldale Park and Ride, Cheshire Express, Waterbury Park and Ride, and Waterbury Express  The proposed project is intended to provide improved transit travel times between activity centers along the corridor, improve mobility and accessibility for the region’s relatively large transit-dependent population, and promote redevelopment opportunities in older urban centers along the alignment.  

The project is forecast to result in 3,900 hours of weekday travel-time benefits in 2025 when compared to conventional bus service.  The majority of these benefits would result from travel between New Britain and Hartford, with in-vehicle transit travel-time savings of 11 minutes for peak period trips between the two downtowns when compared to bus service operating on local roadways.  In addition, ConnDOT’s Busway operations plan would allow buses to enter and exit the facility to reach destinations well outside of the immediate corridor.  This feature would extend the project’s transportation benefits through the region, by increasing bus speeds for the portion of trips utilizing the guideway and reducing the need for transfers.  It is anticipated that low-income residents who may not have access to an automobile and who currently have difficulty reaching jobs in the corridor and other destinations in the suburbs would realize almost 40 percent of the project’s travel-time benefits. The busway will also serve as a network for the planned New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter railway.

Gone Already? Pocket Wireless Moves Out of the State

The Texas based wireless company will close its doors in Connecticut and Massachusetts due to a weak economy, increased competition, and an expensive market in which to build infrastructure. Today is the last day to visit a retail store and customers who have purchased a phone within 30 days will be issued a refund. Those who have had the plan longer than 30 days will be switched to a different carrier. About a 100 workers are expected to be let go. Pocket wireless had stores in Bristol, Hartford, New Britain, New Haven, and Waterbury.