The 30-acre Adriaen’s Landing project in Hartford, which is being developed by the Capital City Economic Development Authority, is only one component of that city’s plan for downtown revitalization.

Ten years ago, the downtown areas in New Haven and Hartford were in similar shape. There wasn’t much to do. People lived there, but there was little economic diversity. The downtowns weren’t the vibrant destinations for which city governments strive.

But both city governments decided to do something about that and, although they are doing it in different ways, both are coming closer – in fact, New Haven has already realized many of its goals – to becoming those vibrant city centers.

Hartford developers are putting in one of the last pieces of its 30-acre downtown revitalization project Adriaen’s Landing, a combination of residential, commercial and recreational construction that includes the new Connecticut Convention Center, the Hartford Marriott Hotel and riverfront development.

The idea was born in 1995 when The Phoenix Cos. began to study the possibility of redevelopment in eastern Hartford, according to the Capital City Economic Development Authority, the Adriaen’s Landing developer. The state took notice and eventually offered funding for the project.

The project, which is being built on a brownfield site and funded by the state, is one of many projects Hartford is undertaking to revitalize its downtown. Some are funded by the state and some are private ventures.

Since 2000, the city has seen new hotels and restaurants completed, but Adriaen’s Landing is a sort of crown jewel in the city’s efforts. Many investors from the rest of the state and country have taken notice of the progress, and changes are already evident in the downtown, according to Annette Sanderson, assistant director and legal counsel for the Capital City Economic Development Authority.

“Already we’re seeing an interest [in the downtown area],” she said.

Hartford’s redevelopment is based on six pillars, Sanderson said. They are the convention center, the Hartford Civic Center, residential housing in the downtown area, housing in the neighborhoods surrounding the downtown, parking and the riverfront.

“We’ve worked through all of them,” she said.

With the state’s investment, more private investors have become interested in the downtown.

“Our dollars have been a catalyst,” she said. “We’re already seeing an upsurge in interest.”

And some of that investment has been for what is probably the biggest piece of the puzzle: housing. The Newton, Mass.-based Northland Investment Corp. plans to build a 1 million-square-foot, $151 million retail center and luxury apartment high-rise in the downtown, where the Hartford Civic Center now stands. The residential tower in the project, called Town Square, would be the tallest of its kind in New England.

The residences would be the first new market-rate apartments in the downtown since the condominium complex Bushnell on the Park was completed. Developers and proponents of Hartford’s revitalization hope the new building will help inject more economic diversity in the downtown and, most importantly for the vitality of the city, get more people walking around and using downtown commercial facilities.

“The overall goal is to get people on the street,” Sanderson said.

Although Hartford’s and New Haven’s revitalization projects are different, getting people on the street is a goal of pretty much every city looking for revitalization, she noted.

“That seems to be a common thread,” Sanderson said.

New Haven began its revitalization about five years ago, according to Economic Development Administrator Henry Fernandez. And although city officials put great importance into getting more people to live downtown, they started out not with project plans but with a more philosophical approach.

“We took a change in philosophy,” he said. “Our goal was to be a world-class city.”

‘Small-Scale Things’

Fernandez and other members of the city government looked at New Haven’s strengths – its strong arts community and the presence of Yale University and its medical complex – and decided to play those up, Fernandez said.

The city is home to several theaters where numerous Broadway shows have started, as well as museums, several symphony orchestras, a ballet, Yale, other colleges and universities and a world-class medical complex, Fernandez said.

“They are things we were good at,” he said.

So that’s where New Haven put its money and any state money slated for redevelopment. The economic development experts refocused on being the center of the region, making thoughtful decisions that drove their actions, Fernandez said. By refocusing their marketing on those strengths, they were able to find private investors for projects like Chapel Square, a former mall that developers converted into housing and street-facing retail and commercial space. The city didn’t offer any incentives, but made several million dollars on the deal, Fernandez said.

The city also put money into events that showcased its strengths.

“For us, what worked is a large number of small-scale things,” said Roland Lemar, New Haven’s public information officer.

The city put money into events like the annual Festival for International Arts and Ideas, which attracts people to the downtown. It also holds concerts annually on the city’s green. Several years ago, 40,000 people showed up to watch music legend Ray Charles perform, Fernandez said.

“That changes, for the 40,000 people, their perception of the city,” he said.

But, as is the case in Hartford, the success of all the development relies heavily on finding more residents to live in the downtown area.

“You need feet on the street,” Lemar said.

New Haven has tried to bring members of the middle and upper classes back to the downtown, Fernandez said. That has helped the city achieve more diversity, which he described as the mark of a great city.

“If you look at any of the great cities in the world, they’re incredibly diverse,” he said.

And although the city didn’t subsidize many projects, when it did, the economic development staff made sure they would support that diversity. One example, Fernandez said, is a city-subsidized project called Ninth Square, which has some affordable units.