East Hartford officials have decided against applying for a state Community Investment Fund grant in support of a massive, mixed-use redevelopment of its Founders Plaza office park. At least not for the latest round. The partnership behind the “Port Eastside” project has spent millions of dollars securing about 30 acres of the struggling office park along the Connecticut River. Port Eastside was initially introduced as an $841 million investment in summer 2023. While plans have been updated since then, the project team has not offered an updated development estimate. A request for up to $4 million in state Community Investment Funds to help fund pre-development costs is on the Dec. 10 meeting agenda of the East Hartford Town Council. East Hartford Development Director Eileen Buckheit, on Monday, said officials haven’t had a chance to digest whether the conditions that would apply to the CIF grant are appropriate for the Port Eastside project, and so willl not seek support for Port Eastside in the CIF application round due Dec. 13.
https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/east-hartford-officials-drop-grant-request-to-aid-founders-plaza-redevelopment