Riverfront Development Envisioned for Founders Plaza

Founders Plaza East Hartford

The Town of East Hartford Development Department, First Merchant Group, the Capital Region Development Authority, and Tecton Architects have partnered to create a vision for the Founders Plaza area, a successful office park along the Connecticut River.  The site is situated with easy access for both pedestrians and drivers across the Founders Bridge into Downtown Hartford and to the scenic walking trails of Great River Park.  A master plan shows the potential for new mixed-use development to be constructed on existing surface parking lots, part of a 12.6 acre contiguous parcel.  An expanded parking garage would allow the site to continue its advantage of hassle-free parking.  Residential and retail options could join the existing office spaces, with an initial build of 300 to 400 residential units, and a potential of up to 2,000 units in the future.  The partners are seeking a developer to take advantage of this opportunity and help these plans come to fruition.

Mayor Marcia Leclerc sees this as the start of a greater link to Downtown Hartford for East Hartford's already prosperous riverfront area.  She recently visited Covington, Kentucky, which sits directly across the Ohio River from Downtown Cincinnati.  She views their economic success as a model for East Hartford.

Read more in these two articles from the Hartford Business Journal:

East Hartford’s Founders Plaza eyed for major mixed-use redevelopment

E. Hartford Mayor: This Kentucky city offers a roadmap for redeveloping Founders Plaza