The area south of Hartford's Bushnell Park is shown, with the park at the bottom of the image. The Bushnell Performing Arts Center is the large building with the green roof. Image courtesy of Google Maps

A New Jersey-based multifamily developer active nationwide got the crucial support of a committee of city and regional leaders in its effort to redevelop one of the first parcels in a partly-vacant Hartford neighborhood just south of downtown.

A committee of Capital Region Development Authority board members, staff and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin gave The Michaels Organization the highest score among four development teams vying for the right to build on parcel 4 in the Bushnell South neighborhood as part of an RFP process. The nearly 3-acre parcel sits next door to the State Office Building, between Buckingham Street and Capitol Avenue.

Michaels beat out teams from LMC, Wonder Works Construction and Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners according to documents included in the packet for this afternoon’s CRDA board meeting. The quasi-public agency has not yet formally designated Michaels as the winner for the site but could do so soon.

Jay Russo, vice president of development for Michaels New England, said in an interview that the company proposed a “live-work-play” development of between 150 and 350 units featuring market-rate housing over commercial space. The company has had some “preliminary” discussions with the nearby Bushnell Performing Arts Center about potentially including arts space in the project or other types of support.

The company hasn’t assembled a complete design for the parcel yet, Russo said, and expects to embark on a public engagement process early next year that will influence the project’s final shape.

“What we’re really looking forward to is rolling up our sleeves and meeting with stakeholders and getting to know their needs and the needs of their location,” he said.

The project could break ground between 18 and 24 months from now if all goes well, he added.

“We’re excited about Hartford. There are a lot of units going online and not a lot of vacancy and rents are starting to grow. That’s a good sign for Hartford and what they’re missing is the live work and play,” Russo said.

Bushnell South is the latest swath of disused buildings and parking lots near downtown Hartford to draw city and CRDA officials’ attention. A master plan for the area showing the potential for up to 1,200 housing units was published last year to guide development and other development teams have begun work on parcels in the area, including a Spinnaker plan to redevelop a former state office building and surrounding parcels into up to 364 housing units and potentially a hotel.

The master plan for Hartford’s Bushnell South neighborhood imagines up to 1,200 new housing units built next to Bushnell Park and several state government buildings. Image courtesy of Goody Clancy