Hartford Mayor Bronin looks to buy Sacred Heart Church property for redevelopment effort
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Sacred Heart Church in Hartford.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is asking the City Council to approve a $480,000 purchase of Sacred Heart Church at 24 Ely St. in Hartford for a broader redevelopment project.
In his letter to Council President Maly D. Rosado, Bronin said he has already signed a letter of intent to buy the parcel from the Archdiocese of Hartford.
Bronin’s letter doesn’t describe a specific plan for the property, but describes the purchase as “a unique opportunity to pursue a creative adaptive reuse that will enhance the overall vision of the community and neighborhood…”
Bronin notes the church sits adjacent to city-owned property, and in proximity to the Arrowhead Gateway and Beyond Project. The city is currently engaged in a planning effort to create a master plan of redevelopment connecting the Clay Arsenal neighborhood to the city’s downtown.
The church falls in the bounds of the study area. The Sacred Heart property is adjacent to two vacant city-owned properties totaling nearly an acre. The block across Ely Street holds a 1.5-acre park containing the 130-foot-tall Keney Memorial Clock Tower, the Capital Preparatory Magnet School and a large vacant property owned by the city’s Department of Public Works.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church was erected for a congregation of German immigrants beginning in the late 1800s, with final completion of the Gothic-style structure and dedication in 1917, according to the Archdiocese of Hartford.
Sacred Heart Church is located just around a corner from a planned $17.5 million redevelopment of three buildings – two of them vacant – into 43 apartments and about 8,000 square feet of retail space. The nonprofit San Juan Center and Carabetta Development LLC are partnered in this project, which involves properties between the northern tip of Ann Uccello and Main streets. The state has contributed $6.5 million through the CT Communities Grant. The city and Capital Region Development Authority are contributing millions more.
Efforts to reach a Bronin representative were not immediately successful Monday morning.
The proposed purchase is on the City Council’s Monday night agenda.
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