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April 21, 2023

150-unit multifamily, mixed-use plan submitted under West Hartford’s new transit district

Contributed A rendering of 1051-1061 New Britain Ave., West Hartford.
By Michael Puffer

New Jersey-based businessman Sami Abunasra has applied to develop a five-story building mixing 150 apartments with 17,241 square feet of restaurant and retail space along New Britain Avenue in West Hartford, in the town’s Elmwood section.

Located just a couple hundred yards from the Elmwood Station of the CTfastrak rapid busway, the proposal for a 205,262-square foot building is the first to take advantage of a new transit-oriented development district adopted by the Town Council last June.

The district allows developers to build higher multifamily residential densities in a district near mass transit, with preference granted to applications that incorporate affordable housing, clean energy and underground parking in designs. So far, the application Abunasra submitted for 1051 and 1061 New Britain Ave., appears to meet these criteria, Town Planner Todd Dumais said.

“It’s an extremely exciting application,” Dumais said Friday. “It appears on the surface to meet all the goals set when the council adopted the transit-oriented district.”

Another benefit of the transit-oriented district is the application will be weighed by administrative staff, rather than appointed boards, offering a swifter approval process designed to close in 65 days. With such a large and potentially complex project, however, staff may request additional time for review from the applicant, Dumais said.

Abunasra paid $1.1 million for the 2.97-acre property in 2020, initially converting it into an Ashley HomeStore location.  After talking with town officials about their aims for the district and reflecting, he pivoted to an ambitious plan for a mixed-use development.

Plans submitted to the town show 128 underground parking spaces and 12 at ground level for residents. An additional 69 ground-level spaces would serve patrons at two restaurants and three retail spaces.

Plans call for 84 one-bedroom apartments, 47 two-bedrooms, 15 studios and four three-bedroom units.

In January 2022, Gov. Ned Lamont announced a $953,646 brownfield grant for the redevelopment, which was then expected to include 131 units and cost $34 million. 

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