Image courtesy of Spinnaker Real Estate Partners

Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate broke ground last week on a new, mixed-use development south of downtown Hartford that local leaders hope could catalyze more development in the area.

Spinnaker Chairman and CEO Clay Fowler and 7 Summits Realty President Rohan Freeman joined Mayor Luke Bronin, City Council President Maly  Rosado and other city and State officials to toss ceremonial shovelfuls of earth at the future site of the 126-unit mixed-use project set to rise at the corner of Park and Main streets, close to Hartford Hospital.

Construction on the $26 million project is expected to be complete in 2021, and the development will feature studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as 23,460 square feet of commercial space. Twenty percent of the units will be reserved for affordable housing.

“These lots at the corner of Park Street and Main Street have stood vacant for thirty years, and today we’re breaking ground on a development that will bring this corner back to life – with a mixed-income, mixed-use development that will be a new gateway to Park Street, and will knit the neighborhood back together,” Bronin said in a statement. “Park and Main is a key location in the city, and this development is just one part of a broader effort along this corridor, along with the new Park Street library branch under construction, affordable housing at Park Terrace, and the new Parkville Market. This project is only possible because the residents and businesses in the neighborhood, the city, the state and the private sector have all come together around a common vision. We are very grateful to the Capital Region Development Authority, the Spanish American Merchants Association, our dedicated team at Development Services and our development partners, for their hard work and commitment to this project.”