. . the city shouldn’t let saccharine sentimentality dictate the future. If the city around the building has changed, it might be best for the building to evolve as well.” – Hartford Courant editorial, August 24, 2016

Anyone who has spent five minutes with me in a discussion regarding historic preservation knows that I refer to myself as a “practical” preservationist.  HPA is not the organization which just says “no,” rather we operate with a mission of “here’s how.”  Preserving a property only to have it continue to sit vacant, abandoned, without contributing to community economic development is useless in Hartford.  We try to prevent demolition in haste. One only needs to walk along Main Street in Downtown to see how well that strategy went.  Our Throwback Thursday posts on social media are among the most popular in our attempt to draw public attention to historic preservation.  Invariably the comments tend to wonder why such and such a building had to be torn down.

289 Farmington Avenue – Comet Diner

One has tremendous sympathy for an elderly property owner who bears the financial burden of maintaining a vacant building. Several cases have come before state courts seeking to have buildings demolished due to their poor condition.  The courts found that “demolition by neglect” is not a defense.  Our attempt to work with representatives of the Comet has yet to engage in a conversation to forge a workable solution. In fact the representative seems determined to ignore any of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood wishes to rejuvenate one of the City’s major commercial corridor.  The desire seems to be to get rid of an historic building and replace it with soulless big box retail.  Please give attention to the intersection of Park Street and Washington to envision an eyesore which pretty much destroyed the urban fabric of that neighborhood.

Washington St. corner of Park St. (photo: Hartford City Assessor)

HPA is working diligently to find an economically viable solution.  Never confuse our desire to preserve with saccharine sentimentality.  We seek some time and the opportunity to bring funds to redevelop and reuse the Comet as well as five other vacant and abandoned properties along Farmington Avenue.

Read full editorial here: http://www.courant.com/opinion/editorials/hc-ed-comet-diner-0824-20160823-story.html

The week is being spent in Indianapolis.  I have previously written about the Preservation Alliance’s initiative to re-purpose and reuse the Comet Diner as a center for food entrepreneurs.  So I am spending time shadowing a business, Indy’s Kitchen, founded and run by an old friend and colleague Linda Gilkerson.  Linda has spent decades teaching, promoting and sponsoring entrepreneurs and small businesses. Out of boredom she determined to start her own business and it has been a success.  Her vision was to create a commercial kitchen that can be hired by the hour to support food entrepreneurs.  Her “customers” are food truck owners, caterers, chefs, and entrepreneurs with a dream of producing food which requires its creation in a licensed and regulated kitchen. In Indianapolis there are roughly 100 food trucks, each of which is required to be tethered to a regulated kitchen.  Indy’s Kitchen is home to 26.  There are caterers who need space to prepare food for clients but again must be done in a regulated environment.  One such caterer set up a business to provide unique wedding feasts.  Her first year she was engaged to do six weddings, this year, her third in business, she has booked 58!  She is now taking orders into 2017.  Indy’s Kitchen provides the framework and the platform to allow food entrepreneurs a place to follow a dream to cook and sell food.  It has provided encouragement and support to foodies of many stripes.  The economic impact of this incubator was studied in 2014 and the statistics are encouraging.  For Hartford the potential of establishing such a site can be profound.  In future blogs and on our website we will begin to post a series of documents which show the import of food incubators nationally.

Finally, and not the least savory part of this blog, is my desire to introduce you to Rob Carmack who founded Indiana Pickle Company.  Take a moment to cruise the website.  I met Rob who was nice enough to offer an array of his pickles.  Personally I am a major pickle fan.  Indiana Pickles are the BEST!  Rob determined to replicate the pickles he loved which were made by his mother from a unique brining method. Apparently this involves barrels which once held beer.  At his family’s encouragement he explored making greater quantities and exploring various brining methods using different raw vegetables/fruits.  He now has developed an array of pickles that utilize former whiskey barrels and locally brewed beers and ales.  Read the story on his website.  His business has grown to the point where he will soon leave Indy’s Kitchen for a dedicated production site.  He can’t produce enough pickles to keep up with the demand.  By the way his cucumbers and other produce are locally sourced.  He has recently contracted with a local farmer to grow all the vegetables necessary for his production needs.  The pickles are truly tasty!

Food, business savvy, a regulated space and entrepreneurs all combine to make a recipe for community economic development. Please continue to follow us as we pursue a strategy to reuse one of Hartford’s more iconic historic properties.

289 Farmington Avenue – Comet Diner

For anyone who has taken on a complete rehabilitation of a vacant and abandoned historic building (I write from experience) requires vision, patience, hard work, perseverance and …. money.  It can be fun to uncover architectural elements which have been hidden but designing and creating new features with which to bring the building into the 21^st Century is exciting.  Maja and Aaron Gill have accomplished just such an astounding project on Capitol Avenue. Long dormant and neglected 389 Capitol was a building you passed while remarking how dilapidated its condition brought down the street.  All too often thinking “someone should do something with it”. The Gills who were long on enthusiasm and saw nothing but opportunity to recreate a building which once housed six residential units and two retail spaces and have done just that.  Assembling a construction team is no easy task for a renovation project which, among other financial resources, has utilized State Historic Tax Credits.  Rehabilitation projects require constant management, endless decisions, creativity to figure out alternative construction approaches, and a robust sense of humor.  If, as happened to the Gills, you live in the project add the headache of a constant battle with dust!

Yet what has emerged is a fine example of one of Hartford’s most iconic residential buildings the Perfect Six.  Most recently the metal “garage doors” have been taken off the retail spaces and what is joining the streetscape is a lovely, elegant building painted green with red trim.  Porches now grace the upper floors and soon the retail construction will present inviting space where commerce once again brings vitality to the street.

Now complete the building enters a period of leasing, the units are enticing with heated bathroom floors, exposed brick, modern kitchens and a component of energy efficiency which is remarkable.  An urban residence to be sure and within a fifteen minute walk to downtown!  As the building has emerged a whole new district is taking shape with new apartments, restaurants, a cocktail lounge and small food boutiques.  Indeed a neighborhood renaissance in Hartford worthy of the dedication of a young couple’s investment in the urban fabric here.  For more information:  860-337-4849 or wolverineproperty@gmail.com.

This past Saturday welcomed a community event on Asylum Hill.  Very much a celebration to cut the ribbon on a new house built by NINA!  Well-attended and most certainly a cause to celebrate new neighbors as homeowners on Huntington Street.

As the belle of the ball this splendid reproduction of a Victorian single-family house joins a neighborhood once filled with such houses befitting a prosperous community.  Many examples of lovely houses dot Asylum Hill, many of which continue to be well-maintained, proudly owned by longstanding neighbors as well as new arrivals hoping to live and work in Hartford. NINA has worked for many years to recreate lovely homes which attract buyers who want to invest in the sense of history which is in this city and lives on in its architecture.  Its mission to renovate and recreate historic homes is one to be cherished by those of us who call Hartford home.

Not only does the new home on Huntington Street represent a beautiful addition to the neighborhood but also a contribution to the rate of homeownership here.  Hartford has a homeownership rate of 25% on a good day and is concentrated in a handful of communities.  Sadly, Asylum Hill hovers at 10%.  These rates suggest that individuals do not make an investment to live in the city.  I speak as a former affordable housing developer who believes that holding a long-term lease represents an asset for many residents.  Yet a balance of owners and renters has to be struck if there is to be a robust city with access to safe, decent, affordable housing for everyone.  As in many things communities out of balance is not healthy.  As Hartford struggles we need to work toward attracting more homeowners to increase stability and to help support the vitality of a truly historic city.

So, join me in welcoming the delightful new home and its new owners to the Asylum Hill Neighborhood.  Long may you prosper!

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