The need to market the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford is among the reasons for Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s proposal for a $7.9 million budget for the Capital City Economic Development Authority in 2006-2007.
Increasing energy costs and the need to continue marketing the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford prompted Gov. M. Jodi Rell last week to propose a $7.9 million budget for the Capital City Economic Development Authority, the agency that oversees the convention center and works toward the revitalization of Hartford. The money would be for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
The proposal is up from what Rell proposed last year, according to the governor’s office. The state Legislature eventually cut that budget to $4.7 million, but CCEDA sought and won an additional $1.5 million earlier this month.
“The $4.7 million simply did not work,” said Michael Cicchetti, assistant director of CCEDA.
CCEDA was underfunded last year, according to John Wiltse, a spokesman for Rell, so the governor hopes the increased funding will allow the authority to successfully market the convention center, which opened last June.
CCEDA officials said they are pleased with the number.
“We think that will serve us well,” Cicchetti said.
Officials at the authority were concerned last year that the $4.7 million budget would force them to drop some plans for the projects associated with the development of Hartford – including a shuttle bus that ran between the convention center and area hotels – and that they would have to cut down on marketing. But the last-minute additional funding of $1.5 million saved the shuttle bus and other programs. This year’s proposed budget is not as much as CCEDA originally requested, but the agency is appreciative of the additional money, Cicchetti said, and will live within that budget.
Cicchetti added that he will be busy over the next few weeks working with the Legislature to try to keep the allocation at $7.9 million. The money is necessary to continue operations at the convention center and to continue marketing to secure large events for the space, he said.
Moving Forward
CCEDA last year asked the state government for $6 million, but later cuts by Rell reduced that figure to $5.5 million. Additional cuts by the Legislature and governor further reduced it to $4.7 million. The budget included $700,000 in operating expenses for CCEDA, a $2 million operating subsidy for the convention center and $2 million for marketing, according to the Associated Press.
The $271 million convention center is the centerpiece of Hartford’s downtown revitalization. It is located on the Connecticut River.
CCEDA is also moving forward on other projects, as well. The authority last week signed a memorandum of understanding with The HB Nitkin Group, which is based in Greenwich, to develop the Front Street section of Adriaen’s Landing. HB Nitkin has extensive experience with retail properties, and a working group trying to strike a deal to build stores, restaurants and housing on Front Street selected the developer last year.
CCEDA had been seeking a new developer since Front Street’s original developer pulled out of the project in August 2004 after disagreements over how much money the state would contribute.
HB Nitkin owns several shopping centers around Hartford, including Cromwell Square in Cromwell and the Shops at Somerset Square in Glastonbury.
The state wants the Front Street development to include an entertainment and retail district as well as residential units, with a probable focus on entertainment.
The convention center is the premier piece of Adriaen’s Landing, and is located on the development’s easternmost edge, overlooking the Connecticut River. It is the largest convention facility between New York and Boston, with more than 145,000 square feet of exhibition space, according to CCEDA’s Web site.
The Adriaen’s Landing project also includes a Marriott hotel currently under construction.
A complex known as Hartford 21, which is taking the place of the city’s old Civic Center, is another major component of the city’s downtown revitalization. In addition to the retail and residential components of the project, there will be 93,000 square feet of office space, 800 parking spaces and a 35,000-square-foot public space with a 50-foot-high atrium and entrance to the 16,600-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, according to documents from Northland Investments.
