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December 2, 2024

West Hartford to review revised mixed-used proposal for former UConn campus

Contributed An artist's rendering of the proposed 1800 Asylum Ave. project in West Hartford.
By David Krechevsky

A proposal to develop a mixed-use project on the University of Connecticut’s former West Hartford branch campus at 1800 Asylum Ave. has been revised to include fewer housing units. 

The application is on the agenda for review Monday by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission. Filed on behalf of WeHa Development Group LLC, which owns the 33.5-acre property, it seeks a zone change from a R-10 single-family zone to a BS shopping center zone with a special development district (SDD) designation overlay. 

The 1800 Asylum Ave. site currently holds vacant, dilapidated buildings, including the former location of the UConn School of Law. It sits west across Trout Brook Drive from the former school’s parking lot, for which the Town Council in April approved a four-building, 322-unit apartment complex.

For the 1800 Asylum Ave. site, WeHa Development proposes demolishing the existing buildings and creating a mixed-use “village” called Heritage Park that would include residential housing, an assisted living facility, retail shops, restaurants and more. The application has been referred from the Town Council to the commission to seek a recommendation.

The latest proposal calls for:

  • A 26,500-square-foot organic grocery store
  • A 42,600-square-foot spa facility
  • A 42,800-square-foot mix of restaurant and retail space
  • Six single-family duplex townhouses
  • 112 multifamily units, including 93 apartments above commercial first floors and 19 for-purchase townhomes, and 
  • An assisted living facility with 90 units.

The proposal reduces the number of apartment units and the size of the assisted living facility. 

The multifamily rental units will include 93 one- and two-bedroom apartments in two buildings, with 5% of the apartments deed-restricted to remain affordable for residents with family incomes at or below 80% of the area median income.

A letter accompanying the application states that the project is envisioned as a village that will include “an integrated public trail system connecting both sides of the village development.”

The walkway through the village, which would be open to the public, would extend the Trout Brook Trail from the south through the site to the northern edge of the proposed village at Lawler Drive.

The letter included with the application also states that, over the past two years, “the project team has worked extensively with the Design Review Advisory Committee, engaging in a total of 13 public study sessions.” It states that this has resulted in “many positive changes” to the project.

The Town Plan and Zoning Commission meets at 7 p.m. Monday in Room 314 of West Hartford Town Hall, 50 South Main St.

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