Hartford officials want to shift funds from stalled Parkville neighborhood development to new downtown AI hub, hotel and garage
Michael Puffer
The vacant data center at 150 Windsor St., in Hartford.
With a $29.2 million plan to construct a mixed-use apartment building and parking garage in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood stalled, local officials are moving to withdraw public backing.
The Capital Region Development Authority wants to reallocate a portion of the $8.2 million previously dedicated to the Parkville project to the development of a hotel, parking garage and artificial intelligence hub on a 3-acre site next to the Dunkin’ Park baseball stadium on a corner of the city’s downtown.
In 2023, the CRDA agreed to lend $3 million to developer Carlos Mouta’s plan to erect a building at 17 Bartholomew Ave., mixing 57 apartments with 6,000 square feet of commercial space. At the same time, the CRDA board signed off on a $5.2 million grant in support of Mouta’s plans for a 400-space parking garage at 35 Bartholomew Ave.
That development, however, has not moved forward. Parkville developer Carlos Mouta and officials blame spikes in construction and borrowing costs.
Now, city officials are asking CRDA to repurpose some of those funds toward their ambition for a new Connecticut Center for Applied AI at 150 Windsor St., a 3-acre site next to the ballpark. The property currently hosts an empty, concrete building that once served as a data center.
Hartford officials plan to tear it down and replace it with an AI hub that will help fuel innovation and grow jobs in Hartford’s bedrock industries, including health care and insurance.
They also want to see a parking garage and hotel added to the site by developer Randy Salvatore, whose firm – RMS Cos. – is adding hundreds of apartments to vacant lots around the ball field as part of his broader North Crossing development.
Jeff Auker, Hartford’s director of development services, said the demolition of the data center will cost $9.4 million. The city aims to use $1.5 million withdrawn from Mouta’s project, along with $500,000 in interest income from a revolving loan fund. Another $1.4 million is expected to come from a state “Urban Act” grant. Hartford officials also expect a response shortly on their request for a $6 million state brownfield grant.
The city, late last year, applied for a piece of the state’s $100 million “Innovation Clusters” grant program, in support of the AI Hub. The program is intended to match state dollars with municipal proposals to grow cutting-edge industries.
Proposals from Hartford, New Haven and Stamford were selected as finalists. Final decisions on which ideas get funded, and to what extent, are expected this month.
Auker said the city remains eager to support some version of Mouta’s development once he can arrange sufficient financing.
Mouta, on Thursday, said he supports the city’s plans at 150 Windsor St., but still hopes to move forward with his Bartholomew Avenue development project, which will require some level of financial assistance from the city and CRDA.
Additional parking is crucial for the development of Parkville, said Mouta. He stressed his Parkville Market – a popular hall with 22 food and drink vendors and three bars – and a neighboring events space he just opened are short on parking.
That makes it hard to host events that add to the vibrancy of the neighborhood, he said. It is also a turn-off for businesses eyeing vacant spaces in the area.
“It’s always a disappointment when money is taken away from a project, but it is stalled,” Mouta said. “Hopefully, when I figure out the project, they can bring it back. I still believe that project is essential for Parkville.”
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