[Queens Guy]

Can anyone tell me if anything new is going on with hartford in regards to jobs coming etc?

Which areas I want to stay away from at night so on and so forth.

[Silli]

Hartford will continue to be central Connecticut's largest center of employment but both the city and region are growing slowly compared to the rest of the US.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Queens Guy

Can anyone tell me if anything new is going on with hartford in regards to jobs coming etc?

Which areas I want to stay away from at night so on and so forth.

It is not within 90 min. of NYC.
//www.city-data.com/forum/12648840-post3.html

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Queens Guy

Can anyone tell me if anything new is going on with hartford in regards to jobs coming etc?

Which areas I want to stay away from at night so on and so forth.

10 years ago the city was on fire to "come back" - it's gone backwards.

Yes we have the state funded projects wrapping up, but even they are not what the original plan was supposed to be and several downtown buildings are in foreclosure (City Place II, Metro Center)...those same buildings were bought by Boston investment groups betting that the state projects would jumpstart the city. Northland owns a lot more in Hartford, and at the rate they are going we may be in big trouble shortly.

All the projects got botched so bad, they built it and no one came and then the economy tanked as the final stab in the heart.

I feel like a fool because I bet a decade of my life hoping the city would "rebuild". It hasn't.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by JViello

10 years ago the city was on fire to "come back" - it's gone backwards.

Yes we have the state funded projects wrapping up, but even they are not what the original plan was supposed to be and several downtown buildings are in foreclosure (City Place II, Metro Center)...those same buildings were bought by Boston investment groups betting that the state projects would jumpstart the city. Northland owns a lot more in Hartford, and at the rate they are going we may be in big trouble shortly.

All the projects got botched so bad, they built it and no one came and then the economy tanked as the final stab in the heart.

I feel like a fool because I bet a decade of my life hoping the city would "rebuild". It hasn't.

I agree that Hartford was on the rise 10 years ago and has since slowed down. I don't know that I agree that it is going backward or that "no one came". There are many new apartments downtown that are nearly fully occupied. More new residences are not being built because there is a lack of funding availability right now, not because there is no demand. Both the Convention Center and the Science Center are doing well. The Front Street commmercial area is now being built. Even though it is not as big as originally envisioned, it still should be pretty nice. And there is a new office building going up on Constitution Plaza that will be the first green building in the region. Retail is not doing well but that is a national problem right now. SO I don;t think Hartford is that bad off. It is a nice small city with a lot going for it. Jay

[JViello]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I agree that Hartford was on the rise 10 years ago and has since slowed down. I don't know that I agree that it is going backward or that "no one came". There are many new apartments downtown that are nearly fully occupied. More new residences are not being built because there is a lack of funding availability right now, not because there is no demand. Both the Convention Center and the Science Center are doing well. The Front Street commmercial area is now being built. Even though it is not as big as originally envisioned, it still should be pretty nice. And there is a new office building going up on Constitution Plaza that will be the first green building in the region. Retail is not doing well but that is a national problem right now. SO I don;t think Hartford is that bad off. It is a nice small city with a lot going for it. Jay

I wasn't really talking about the "condo market" in downtown so much as I was talking about all the development that never followed the convention center, Hartford 21 (They have the markets done YET?), the UConn business school etc.

Front Street is a shadow of what it was supposed to be - no "public square, no housing, and they can't get all the tenants on board because it's been 10 YEARS before they got a shovel in the ground. Never mind that EPSN won't even locate in their own "home" city. (I know, but Bristol IS a burb of Hartford.)

If there wasn't a pile of state seed money being thrown at it or it wasn't fully state funded, it didn't get done. No one came. The "green" building is the exception and to be honest I'm surprised they are moving forward. If anything, more companies left the city than came or stayed. The butt ugly building is still standing 20 years later ready to fall over, the empty Capital West (?) building is still there 15 years later with smashed out windows etc.

Crime has gone up, parking is more of mess, the neighborhoods are in worse shape, city government is a joke and we have several buildings in downtown in foreclosure (One of them being the most well know tower - City Place) and THE major real estate investor that owns property downtown is about bankrupt. Several companies that had plans to go into the Colt Gateway backed out the Wadsworth expansion has been canceled on and on.

I'm a member of the Hartford club and have a friend at the HBJ, and let me tell you, from what I see it's not pretty and in fact starting to get ugly.

When I add it all up, it's a negative figure to me.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

It is not within 90 min. of NYC.
//www.city-data.com/forum/12648840-post3.html

If whoever said that is basing it on my past posts on the subject, I'm sorry if it was misconstrued. From the northernmost Bronx right on the Westchester line it might be possible in very ideal conditions (I have gone from southern Westchester to Hartford in 90 mins) but certainly not from Queens.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

If whoever said that is basing it on my past posts on the subject, I'm sorry if it was misconstrued. From the northernmost Bronx right on the Westchester line it might be possible in very ideal conditions (I have gone from southern Westchester to Hartford in 90 mins) but certainly not from Queens.

It's certainly doable without traffic.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

It's certainly doable without traffic.

Well depends how fast you drive. For the once/month or so trips I take to Hartford I usually have my cruise control set on about 62-64 (and 70 in the limited "65 zones") and maybe I occasionally speed up another 5 mph for a few seconds to pass someone so that's my point of reference.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

Well depends how fast you drive. For the once/month or so trips I take to Hartford I usually have my cruise control set on about 62-64 (and 70 in the limited "65 zones") and maybe I occasionally speed up another 5 mph for a few seconds to pass someone so that's my point of reference.

True. On 91 you can cruise at around 72 (and still feel like you're going slow). One you hit the Merritt though, that drops by about 10 mph. It's also really difficult to use your cruise control on the Merritt.

One guy I know commutes everyday from Kensington to White Plains - he makes it in about an hour without traffic, but he's probably one of those maniacs driving 80+ the whole way.