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October 31, 2024

UConn to receive $500K gift from Travelers to support downtown Hartford student housing

Contributed UConn’s new housing units planned in downtown Hartford will be located in an annex building that faces Pratt Street.

The UConn Foundation announced Thursday that it will receive $500,000 from insurer Travelers Cos. to help cover room and board costs for UConn students who live at a planned 200-bed residence hall on Pratt Street in downtown Hartford.

UConn’s Board of Trustees in May approved a plan to lease space at 242 Trumbull St., where the building’s landlord, Shelbourne Global Solutions, plans to convert 84,000 square feet of vacant office space into 50 four-person units that will be rented to about 200 UConn students. The dorms will be located in an annex that faces Pratt Street.

This will represent the first housing option offered by UConn in downtown Hartford, where the school has one of its four satellite campuses. 

The $27.9 million project is being financed, in part, by a $10 million low-interest loan from the Capital Region Development Authority. The state Bond Commission approved the loan funding in June. 

In approving the lease deal, UConn Board members acknowledged that the new Hartford housing option would likely run an annual deficit somewhere in the range of $1.5 million, or higher if all the beds aren’t utilized.

That deficit was projected based on the school offering subsidies for student rents to ensure the housing option was attainable. 

In a 2023 survey conducted by UConn, students indicated that a cost of $7,500 per academic year was attainable.  

In year one of the lease deal, UConn has agreed to pay an annual rent of $2.2 million, or $183,156 monthly. That rent increases annually over the 20-year lease deal. 

To close the projected deficit, UConn said it would rely on philanthropic efforts, including providing naming rights to the dorms.

Travelers funding will be used over a five-year period, according to the UConn Foundation. 

“Thanks to this generous gift from Travelers, more students will have access to our new residence hall,” said Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, campus dean and chief administrative officer at UConn Hartford. “The residence hall will serve as a catalyst for learning as well as connecting students to the rich historical, cultural, political, and business resources of our Capital City.”

Andy Bessette

“Our relationship with UConn spans decades, and we are proud to be a part of the university’s efforts in expanding its presence in downtown Hartford,” added Andy Bessette, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Travelers.

Shelbourne is partnering on the project with Hartford-based real estate developer and investor Lexington Partners and Hartford-based LAZ Parking.

UConn said it also recently debuted its new Community Intersections & Innovation Space near the XL Center, and is opening a café for students next fall in the Hartford Times Building, where its main campus is located.

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