East Hartford leaders are planning on bringing in more businesses and developments for pedestrians by 2027.
Making East Hartford a destination for business and pleasure. The town will be seeing a number of new developments in the works which the mayor says is a way to transform the area.
“We have more development going on than ever in East Hartford’s history,” Mayor Connor Martin, (D)- East Hartford, said.
Mayor Martin is excited about what’s to come in East Hartford. Since being elected last year, he says a priority for him is bringing economic development to the town.
“People want to have something to do here in East Hartford and they want a reason to spend their money in East Hartford,” he said.
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One project is the re-development of Silver Lane Plaza, a strip mall that has been run down for years. He says the plan to help move existing businesses and demolish the buildings to give way to options for mixed use development.
“Housing, retail, entertainment and restaurant pads,” Martin said.
He also says there are plans to re purpose Bissell Street for it to become like Pratt Street in Hartford.
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“We want to shut down the road. We want to have outdoor furniture. We want to create sort of an experience,” he said.
Mayor Martin says this April, the street would be closed and eventually would be hosting food trucks and outdoor concerts to give the concept an initial run that will attract people.
“A destination that East Hartford becomes known for. That residents want to go to. They can leisure. They can relax,” he said.
There’s also the massive port eastside project on the riverbank. The mayor says the old Bank of America building is to be demolished for new apartments and possibly include a pedestrian bridge. He says this would be a game-changer.
“It is truly going to transform East Hartford from the blue-collar town that we’re known as now to a true destination of the region,” he said.
The mayor says all of these projects come with the input of town residents in mind wanting to see their tax dollars used to improve the town. He wants people to see the town differently in the future.
“We’re working on combating that narrative. We want to shed that poor community narrative that there is nothing to do here in town,” he said.
He hopes what happens in the next few years sets the tone.
“By 2026 to 2027 we’ll see either completion or start to see some of those tax benefits coming back to our grand list,” he said.
