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Tri-State

Connecticut city plans $841M redevelopment project

East Hartford project would include 1,000 units, 300,000 sf for commercial use

Hartford Business Leaders Founders Plaza Redevelopment
99 Founders Plaza in East Hartford CT with Lexington Partners principal Marty Kenny and LAZ Parking founder Alan Lazowski (Google Maps, LinkedIn, Lexington Partners)

A who’s who of Connecticut business leaders are forging ahead with a $841 million plan to redevelop Founders Plaza in East Hartford.

The developers — operating as Port Eastside LLC — purchased a low-rise office building at 99 Founders Plaza for $4 million, the Hartford Business Journal reported. The venture plans to demolish the building, which sits on seven-and-a-half acres.

A seven-figure purchase of a small office building isn’t scintillating, but what the developers have up their sleeves is worth monitoring. Port Eastside is planning a project with 1,000 apartments, 300,000 square feet of commercial space and a pedestrian bridge over the Connecticut River for the site of the 50-year-old Founders Plaza.

As for those developers’ identities: Lexington Partners owner Martin Kenny, LAZ Parking owner Alan Lazowski, Hoffman Auto Group co-chair Jeffrey Hoffman, Houston-based multifamily investor REV’s Peter Roisman, Figure 8 Properties principals Harris and Bruce Simons and Manafort Brothers President Jim Manafort, cousin of Paul Manafort.

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East Hartford Mayor Michael Walsh referred to the development team as a “game-changer.”

Besides demolishing the office building, Port Eastside needs to raze the former Red Thread property and a dilapidated parking garage to make way for the project, a 30-acre site along the river. The project would include several mid- to high-rise apartment buildings, a 100,000-square-foot medical center, a transportation center and an elevated greenway.

The development team aims to land $45 million from East Hartford to finance the construction of a new parking garage. They are also seeking $100 million from state and federal sources for the transportation elements of the project. The venture already secured $6.5 million from several sources to cover demolition.

The venture aims to demolish the existing properties this year and project a seven-to-eight year process to deliver the development. Permitting and financing still need to come through for the project to unfold as planned.
— Holden Walter-Warner

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