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November 7, 2024

Search for Hartford federal courthouse site down to 2 locations

Abraham A. Ribicoff Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 450 Main St., Hartford
By Michael Puffer

The search for a Hartford site to build a new $335 million federal courthouse has been narrowed to two options.

Federal officials are currently considering building on a nearly 2.2-acre parking lot off Allyn Street in downtown Hartford, or on a nearly 10.2-acre site hosting a state office building at 61 Woodland St., according to a draft environmental impact statement recently released by the U.S. General Services Administration.

The federal agency studied the potential impacts of building and operating a courthouse on each site.

The study is available online and the public has until Dec. 16 to offer feedback.

The agency didn’t study the impact of a previously considered option, a 2.2-acre property south of Bushnell Park. This site, composed of three contiguous properties at 63 and 67 Capitol Ave., and 186 Buckingham St., hosts a 1,092-square-foot auto detailing shop but is mostly made up of a surface parking lot. 

The draft federal study notes the site’s owner withdrew it from consideration.

Spinnaker Real Estate Partners paid $3.25 million for the site in February, banking it for future development. The Norwalk-based company already has several apartment developments underway in this “Bushnell South” development area, which is just south of Bushnell Park.

The GSA’s study also dismisses the possibility of renovating and expanding the existing Ribicoff Federal Building and Courthouse two blocks to the east of the Bushnell South site, concluding that option could be far costlier and difficult to stage.

There is still a third option. The GSA’s study has not dismissed the idea of doing nothing.

Federal lawmakers have appropriated $335 million for the design and construction of a new courthouse in Hartford. The GSA anticipates launching construction in 2026, with the building fully occupied by 2030, according to the draft impact study. 

It would host up to 240 staff and accommodate 200 to 500 visitors daily. 

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