Feds choose downtown Hartford site as preferred location for new federal courthouse
Abraham A. Ribicoff Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 450 Main St., Hartford
The federal government has selected a site on Allyn Street in Hartford as the “preferred alternative” to build a replacement for the aging Abraham A. Ribicoff Federal Building and Courthouse.
On Friday, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it had chosen the Allyn Street site over two other properties in contention for the new federal courthouse.
Hartford’s existing federal courthouse, at 450 Main St., was constructed in 1963 and no longer meets the court’s needs, according to GSA.
GSA plans to acquire the 2.2-acre property at 154 Allyn St., currently a surface parking lot owned by SGS Allyn LLC, which is controlled by Bernard S. Bertram. He is the managing member of Brooklyn, New York-based Shelbourne Global Solutions, downtown Hartford’s largest office landlord.
Shelbourne bought the property in 2019 for $3.9 million, city records show.
The new courthouse would span up to 281,000 square feet, with 11 courtrooms, 18 judges’ chambers, offices for other court-related agencies and 66 secure parking spaces.
The federal government has authorized $334.97 million for the site acquisition, design and construction.
The Allyn Street property was one of three that the federal government considered.
The others were 61 Woodland St., which is currently home to a state office building, and 201 Hudson St., a surface parking lot with an auto detailing shop on it.
The GSA has prepared an environmental impact statement analyzing the potential impacts of the project, which can be viewed here. It will accept comments from the public until 5 p.m. on June 9.
Comments may be submitted to HartfordCourthouse@gsa.gov with the subject line “Hartford Courthouse EIS.”
A final decision regarding the location is expected to be issued in June.
The GSA expects to begin designing the courthouse this year. Construction would start in 2027 and be substantially complete by 2030.
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