Old UConn Site Action By WeHa's PZC/IWWA On Youtube: UPDATE

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Following months of delays, key action by the town on a massive mixed-use housing/retail development plan for the old University of Connecticut site is upcoming.

West Hartford land-use officials will conduct a hearing, discussion and possible vote on the measure on Wednesday, Nov. 29.

According to town officials Wednesday afternoon, West Hartford will broadcast the meeting live on Youtube via this link.

The special meeting/public hearing is regarding West Hartford Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Agency applications for 1700 and 1800 Asylum Ave.

It will take place at 7 p.m. in Room 314 inside West Hartford Town Hall, 50 S. Main St., West Hartford.

In West Hartford, the town's planning and zoning commission also serves as the town's inland wetland and watercourses agency.

Operating under that capacity, the PZC/IWWA was to address the first of multiple applications for the old University of Connecticut-Hartford branch site on Asylum Avenue.

The developer, "West Hartford 1," purchased the 58-acre site in January 2022 and it has filed applications under the names WEHA Development Group LLC and WEHA Development Group East LLC.

The development team has a working name for the project — "Oakwood Park."

In recent weeks and months, there have been some revisions to the scope of the project.

The component at 1700 Asylum Ave., for example, calls for the construction of four multi-story residential apartment buildings. This is down from the prior plan, which called for five.

Meanwhile, aspects of the other portion of the project — 1800 Asylum Ave. — have become a bit clearer as well.

That component calls for the construction of 14 new buildings to have a diverse array of uses, ranging from mixed-use to housing to commercial buildings.

According to a development presentation unveiled in February before the West Hartford Design Review Advisor Committee, the massive project has multiple facets.

Those include multi-family residential housing; boutique-style retail components; restaurants; medical offices; a spa; an organic neighborhood market; public parks walking areas, trails, and ballfields; and a structured parking component.

Redevelopment of the old UConn site, which served as the UConn-Hartford branch from 1970 to 2017, has been in and out of town conversations for years, ever since the campus relocated to downtown Hartford.

But after weeks and months of showing up in subcommittee discussions, formal applications were submitted, withdrawn and resubmitted again.

Following IWWA approval, the project would have to come back before the West Hartford PZC for necessary zoning permits, a timeline that hasn't been unveiled yet.

The applications are available for public review online and in the West Hartford Town Plan and Zoning Office, Room 214, West Hartford Town Hall, 50 S. Main St., West Hartford.

Wednesday's hearing/possible action comes after weeks and months of starts, stops, delays and revisions at the town hall level.

On Oct. 2, the PZC/IWWA opened up two applications on the agenda and immediately continued them to the Oct. 23 special meeting.

Those applications were for inland wetlands and watercourse permits through the IWWA, which are necessary given project components are near designated wetland areas.

Initially before the commission over the summer, the applications ultimately ended up before the IWWA/PZC in September, where they were continued to Oct. 2, when they were continued again to Oct. 23.

After, they were continued to Nov. 6 and, now, it's been pushed back to Wednesday, Nov. 29.

Town officials have said such continuances are common given the massive size and scope of the project, which require significant back-and-forth between town agencies and the applicants.

Those with questions regarding these applications can contact the West Hartford Town Planner Todd Dumais at 860-561-7556 or via email at todd.dumais@westhartfordct.gov.

To watch the Nov 29 meeting live, click on this link.

To review the most current application-related plans and materials, visit this link.

From Oct. 17: 'UConn Site Project To Be Delayed Again By WeHa PZC: UPDATE'