New luxury condominiums are integral to keeping West Hartford’s center bustling while also providing a range of housing options in town, local officials said while introducing Center Park Place, the newest residential midrise going up near Blue Back Square.
Scores of business and community leaders gathered at the construction site Friday for the kickoff of a multi-year job to build 58 amenity-rich condos on six floors.
Center Park Place is one of four major complexes that are going to change the skyline of West Hartford’s town center over the next two years. The Byline’s 48 upper-scale apartments are close to complete, exterior work for the 172-unit One West Hartford complex is nearly done and The Camelot’s 44 affordably priced apartments have been open for several months.
Taken together, the four projects represent the biggest change to West Hartford’s core since Blue Back Square was built. They’re expected to bring more than 500 people to one of Connecticut’s most popular areas.
State housing advocates have praised West Hartford for alleviating a bit of Connecticut’s severe housing shortage, and supporters of workforce housing call The Camelot particularly uncommon progress: modern apartments offered at below market rates in a highly successful town center.
Center Park Place is at the opposite end of the cost spectrum, but Mayor Shari Cantor emphasized it will provide a tool for keeping retirees in town while freeing up under-used single-family homes.
“This is an option for people who live in homes in West Hartofrd. They can stay in West Hartford and sell their home to a family that might live in a more modest house, and that frees up what could be a starter home for someone else,” she said. “The people who live here will support our retail shops, the hardware store and, yes, the restaurants.”
These are the town center’s primary new residential projects:
Center Park Place
Location: 2 Arapahoe Road
Units: 58 condominiums
Cost: Roughly $1.19 million to $3.17 million
Status: Groundbreaking was Friday, estimated completion is September 2027.
The Byline
Location: 920 Farmington Ave.
Units: 48 apartments
Cost: $2,700 to $4,900 monthly except for two affordably priced units leased at $1,740.
Status: Tenants have been moving in since August.
The Camelot
Location: 900 Farmington Ave.
Units: 44 affordable apartments.
Cost: Current listings are $1,900 to $2,280, but some rents are less with prices set as a percentage of the area’s average income.
Status: Opened in May.
One West Hartford
Location: 950 Trout Brook Road
Units: 172 upscale apartments
Cost: $1,999 to $3,914
Status: Exterior construction largely complete and developer reports that leasing tours will begin soon.