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October 16, 2023

Hartford pays $2.1M for 80,000-sq.-ft. industrial building

CoStar 81 Bartholomew Ave., Hartford
By Michael Puffer

The city of Hartford has paid $2.1 million for a century-old, roughly 80,000-square-foot manufacturing building seen as integral to economic revitalization efforts in its working-class Parkville neighborhood.

Champlin Packrite, a logistics company serving aerospace, manufacturing and industrial clients, sold the brick manufacturing building at 81 Bartholomew Ave., to the city in a deed dated Sept. 27.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin has submitted a request to the city council to transfer $2.1 million of an estimated $39.5 million surplus from fiscal 2023 to replenish capital improvement reserves related to the purchase.

Bronin, in a statement released Monday, called the "prominent and historic property" at 81 Bartholomew "a really important piece for the bigger Parkville puzzle."

"As we work to achieve the broader vision of a vibrant live-work-play neighborhood in the Parkville Arts & Innovation District, we wanted to make sure that 81 Bartholomew is redeveloped in a way that contributes to that vision," Bronin said. 

The Champlin-Packrite property was included in the city’s March 2022 application for a $48.4 million grant from Gov. Ned Lamont’s Innovation Corridor grant program. The $100 million grant program was meant to provide matching funds to help up to three cities undertake transformational revitalization programs. 

Awards were initially expected to be announced in spring 2022, but no commitments have yet been made.

According to the city’s 2022 application, 81 Bartholomew Ave. was to be transformed into a hub for companies providing advanced manufacturing technology, which would be known as “The Factory.” The hub would connect suppliers with information, support and partners around cutting-edge manufacturing. 

The city has agreed to lease the property back to Champlin-Packrite for a year while it explores potential uses. 

"We've had a number of conversations about potential uses -- from manufacturing to arts to entertainment -- and I expect that over the next year the city will continue to explore a variety of possibilities there," reads a portion of Bronin's statement. "In the meantime, the property will continue to be used by the original owner during a period of transition." 

 

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