Aaaah…this rollercoaster is off again. The Hartford City Council (aka the coalition of the bullied and bought) approved a 15 year, $12 million tax abatement deal with Bradley Nitkin of the HB Nitkin Group. The deal is for the expected development of the Front Street branch of Adriaen’s Landing which is now on it’s third developer. Who is Bradley Nitkin? Mr. Nitkin is a Yalie who went to school with our esteemed President. He tried his hand at the social justice thing while working for a Great Society anti-poverty agency after college, he made a financial 180° after that experience and is now in charge of a Greenwich based development firm.
What the heck is a “tax abatement” you might say…
A tax abatement is a temporary suspension of property tax payments. The tax may be abated up to 100%, and generally only local or county taxing authorities can offer tax abatements. However, tax abatements have a limited duration, whereas tax exemptions are in effect for as long as a property is owned and operated as specified by law.
Soooooo, what do Hartford residents get for this?
Well, for one, señor Nitkin has stated that he is exploring the possibility of building at least 200 owner-occupied condominiums, instead of rental apartments as the previous developer had planned. This should add much needed revenue into Hartford coffers. The flip side to this silver lined cloud is that by the time these units are made, we will already know if the market for luxury residences has been tapped by Hartford 21, Trumbull on the Park, Talcott Street, and other downtown residences.
Front Street will also be a short walk from a ready and willing potential employee base in the Sheldon Charter Oak neighborhood. I’m sure if the City had it’s way years ago, they would’ve demolished all of the housing there but Bernadine Silvers and others made sure that did not happen. The rewards for the residents should be available retail positions just across the whitehead highway.
Talks of ESPN and a Today Show-type of studio have been discussed but I hope that señor Nitkin can think outside the box for a sec and consider something along the lines of the San Francisco Museum of the African Diaspora. A 3 story 20,000 sq. foot museum whose footprint in the building it inhabits is relatively small. Imagine a Performing Arts and Exhibition space dedicated to the Latino population of the city, the majority I might add. A museum or performing arts space celebrating the latino arts would be a coup for the city and the region.
paz
If you build it, Business, Residents, and Revenue will come.
It WILL PAY OFF in the long run.
I understand you wanting a museum dedicated to latino art, but I think and ESPN Zone might more practical. It’ll bring in a good amount of money plus it will help put hartford on the map ,considering only major cities have ESPN Zone’s (Washington DC, LA, Las Vegas, Miami, Baltimore, NY, Boston, etc)
I say if you want a museum, put it away from other sights/tourist attractions, that way instead of having one “hot spot” for people to go to you have everything spread out so that they see more of the city.