Image courtesy of CTDOT
Enfield is the latest community along the nearly three-year-old Hartford commuter rail line seeking to tap into transit expansion for economic development and more diverse housing options.
The town of 44,000 last year offered to chip into the cost of a new $30 million train platform in its Thompsonville section. The new plans – nearing completion in March – replace an earlier option for a $50 million train station that were unveiled early in 2020 by Gov. Ned Lamont.
“We have some skin the game, and I think that caught their attention,” Enfield Town Manager Christopher Bromson said of state transportation officials.
The town offered $3 million of its own funds and received approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation to contribute another $674,000 from a federal transportation earmark toward the project. Plans call for a 200-foot-long platform, utility building with ticket booths and covered waiting area, and widening of the nearby South River Street bridge.
The revised designs, which are being drawn up by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, locate the train platform on the east side of the tracks, maximizing development opportunities on the opposite side where several parcels overlook the Connecticut River. Town officials predict the station will be an economic engine, intensifying interest in nearby properties with potential for redevelopment.
In 2017, the town acquired 33 North River St., a 23,000-square-foot former factory known as the “Casket Building” that has redevelopment potential for retail, office and apartments. Currently vacant, the 4-story building could be made available to private developers through a future request for proposals, Bromson said.
Opposite the Casket Building are four parcels totaling 3 acres owned by Eversource, and the town is in final talks to acquire them as parking for future developments.
And a 3.2-acre property that included a power plant for the former Bigelow Carpet mill also has redevelopment potential. The mill was converted into 700 apartments in the 1990s.
In recent years, town officials have discussed rezoning the area for mixed-use developments including five-story buildings containing housing, offices and retail.
Manchester developer Bill Bellock sees potential for more multifamily development in Thompsonville. Bellock’s Bellsite Development converted the former St. Adalbert School on Alden Avenue into 21 one-bedroom apartments, which have remained fully occupied since completion in 2018 with rents starting at $950.
“There’s absolutely a need for multifamily and we’re all kind of stuck in the COVID mindset right now, but you have to look beyond that,” Bellock said. “There’s a market for studios or smaller one-bedroom units, because a lot of the tenants are just starting out work and want their own place.”
‘Not Just a Train Station to Nowhere’
Passenger rail service served the town from the 19th century until 1986, when Amtrak eliminated the Enfield stop due to low ridership. Rail service from New Haven to Hartford and Springfield resumed in 2018, in a partnership between the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Approximately 1,670 Enfield residents commute to Hartford, but only 167 use public transit, according to data provided by town officials. Bromson said the town plans to expand connections between the train station and other neighborhoods using the existing Magic Carpet Bus service.
“It’s not going to be just a train station to nowhere,” he said.
The Thompsonville section of town, which includes the former train station site, has been a longtime focus of town officials’ goals for redevelopment.
Frank Trioano, a local developer who has built a pair of commercial projects in the neighborhood, calls the area “a diamond in the rough” with potential to attract more retail, office space and housing.
“It’s an excellent step in the right direction,” Trioano said of the potential new train stop. “Public transportation always helps and it’s certainly going to be a wonderful boost to that region.”
Troiano developed and owns the People’s United Bank property as well as the former St. Francis Medical Group building, a 30,000-square-foot medical office that was leased this month by Hartford Hospital. Another development parcel owned by Troiano across from the town hall has received interest from multiple potential tenants, he said.
“You’ve certainly got opportunities for residential, also light commercial and professional offices,” he said. “You’re opening up a lot of opportunities with the parcels that are available to create a real townscape, and Enfield is due for a walkable, accessible development area.”
