Hartford’s Millennium Building up for sale at tax auction
The exterior of The Millennium.
The City of Hartford has put the troubled 18-story Millennium apartment building up for auction for nearly $1 million in unpaid taxes and penalties.
The building is among 44 properties the city is selling at a June 26 tax auction at Dunkin’ Park.
The building hosted a Red Lion hotel, which closed shortly after the onset of the COVID pandemic. A conversion to apartments by developer Inner Circle stalled and lender DW Commercial Finance foreclosed in 2020.
That bankruptcy cost the Capital Region Development Authority about $5 million it had lent toward the redevelopment effort.
The building at 50 Morgan St., just north of downtown Hartford, is currently owned by a joint venture of Waterbury-based Axela Group and downtown Hartford landlord Shelbourne Global Solutions. The partners paid $22 million for the building in 2021, with plans to spend about $8 million completing the conversion into a 260-unit apartment building.
Attorney Scott Consoli, representing Shelbourne Axela LLC, said the current project lender refused to cover inflating costs as labor and materials expenses surged amid the pandemic.
Consoli said he is close to an agreement with the city to remove the property from the auction block, allowing time to refinance with new lenders.
“When the property is refinanced, we should be able to clear the mechanic’s liens and the back taxes and continue with the conversion of the balance of the floors to apartments,” Consoli said.
In a statement released Thursday, Attorney Howard Rifkin, representing the city, acknowledged the city is interested in reaching a resolution.
"The city has an interest both in the successful completion of the redevelopment work at 50 Morgan St. and in resolving the outstanding tax liability, and we will continue to talk with the owners of that property as we work to protect the city's interests," reads the statement.
Consoli was unable to place a current cost estimate on the conversion project. He said refinancing is expected to be completed within the coming few months, and that the remaining conversion will likely take another six to eight months.
Tenants have complained of maintenance problems and several liens were also placed on the building since last August.
Shelbourne Axela LLC owes the city $985,111.93 in back taxes and fees as of May, according to the tax collector’s office. The partnership could keep the property off the auction block by paying mounting back taxes and fees, as well as additional attorney’s fees and other costs associated with preparing the auction.
Even should the property sell at auction, Shelbourne Axela would have six months to pay off back taxes and mounting fees.
But costs could extend well beyond back taxes. In December, the Metropolitan District filed a $155,430 lien against 50 Morgan St. for unpaid sewer fees.
Contractors, subcontractors and building materials suppliers have filed mechanics liens alleging more than $1.6 million in missed payments for work and supplies that have gone into 50 Morgan St.
Shelbourne Axela, in May 2022, filed a tax appeal of the $11.88 million fair market value placed on the property by the city's assessing office, describing it as "grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful." That case is still pending.
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