The first phase of the $26 million Park and Main mixed-use development — 39 mixed-income studio, one- and two-bedroom rentals — is expected to begin leasing in April. A second phase of 87 apartments on the northern side of the intersection is scheduled to break ground next month. Park and Main is far more modest with three stories over storefront space, but city officials see a vast potential for the project, partly funded with a state taxpayer-backed loan of $8.4 million from the Capital Region Development Authority. “Most of the buildings that were operating Pre-COVID are back to pre-COVID levels,” Michael W. Freimuth, CRDA’s executive director, said. “The ones that have struggled are the ones that came on last year, either were in construction or early lease up.” A new project, “Re-imagining Main Street,” envisions the park — now rundown, sullied by litter and documented drug dealing — with a future that could make it an oasis for the neighborhood. Traffic whizzing through the area could be calmed by a roundabout at the intersection, either a circle or a peanut shape that would visually flow into the park.
https://www.courant.com/business/hc-biz-hartford-park-main-development-20210215-4q2vnq5ipre6pnypypywoswtri-story.html