News

May 17, 2010

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the City of Hartford a $124,500 cleanup grant for the remediation of 354-380 Hudson Street/Ramos Qurious Park in the Main-John-Hudson Street Redevelopment Plan Area. The City submitted its proposal in October 2009 for the grant.

CT051v-Annual Plan-2009
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**NEW** 9/11/2008- Downtown Redevelopment Plans Move Forward- Click here for plan details

New Housing Developments

Hartford’s New Citation Process: A New Weapon to Combat Urban Blight

Hartford 2010 Final Report

St. Francis Medical Center received approval to build a new 8-story, $125M, 230,000sf medical building in the block bound by Ashley, Asylum, Atwood and Collins St.
Architect's rendering

Prime Downtown Site
offered by City of Hartford
This easily accessible, highly visible 6.275-acre assemblage consists of 3.375 and 2.90-acre parcels, located on the northern edge of the Central Business District.  This commercially zoned parcel is one of the few remaining sites in the downtown area, ideally suited for a major corporate headquarters facility.

  Department Links

Mission: The Hartford Development Services Department serves to promote the orderly development of the City by helping residents and policy makers plan for Hartford's future, and to provide professional and administrative services to developers, businesses, Hartford residents, City land use regulatory boards and commissions and other City agencies.

The Department is organized into five divisions: economic development, housing and property management, grants management services, licenses and inspections and planning.

Economic Development Division

The Economic Development Division works to create an environment in Hartford conducive to growing and attracting business throughout the City and its neighborhoods through the following programs:

• Small Business Development: Provides technical assistance to neighborhood businesses and entrepreneurs interested in starting new businesses.

• Corporate Development: Works with industrial companies, commercial service firms and chain retailers on projects that retain and create new jobs and spur investment in the city.

• Neighborhood Development and Redevelopment: Provides assistance to developers and neighborhood groups to ensure that blighted and underutilized properties are renovated and put back to productive reuse.

• The Hartford Redevelopment Agency (HRA) establishes and manages Redevelopment Plans and purchases targeted properties for development.

For more information click here.

Housing and Property Management Division

The Housing & Property Management Division administers housing rehabilitation and construction contracts through several loan programs. These programs:

• Provide down payment and closing cost assistance for the purchase of 1 to 4 family homes;

• Provide low interest rate loans to finance home repairs;

• Expand the supply of decent and affordable housing for low and very low-income persons/families;

• Provides financing assistance for rehabilitation and new construction of one to four family homes; and

• Assist residential tenants in Hartford who believe that their rents are excessive.

For more information click here.

Division of Grants Management

The Division of Grants Management secures, manages and administers U.S. Housing and Urban Development entitlement grant programs including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Shelter (ESG) and Housing Opportunities for Persons With Aids (HOPWA), as well as other federal and state grant and loan agreements; and develops and manages several community development projects.

On an annual basis these federal entitlement funds are allocated to City departments and over seventy-five community-based organizations throughout the City, to rebuild and revitalize Hartford’s neighborhoods and support its low and moderate-income residents. The Grants Division also ensures funds are used appropriately in accordance with stringent federal regulations.

For more information click here.

Licenses & Inspections Division

The Licenses and Inspections Division ensures the health and safety of the public and the soundness and habitability of the City’s residential, industrial and commercial structures by enforcing the state building code and the city’s housing and zoning codes; and issues licenses and permits as required by state statute and municipal code.

• Housing Code and Rodent Control Enforcement
  Enforce State Statutes and Municipal Ordinances that protect the public health, safety and welfare in all:

  • Three-family or more

  • Mixed use residential/ commercial structures

  • One and two-family dwellings that are not occupied by the property owner.

• Building and Trades reviews building permit applications and plans for code compliance, issue building permits and conduct on going building inspections to assist and ensure property owners and contractors build and repair housing, industrial and commercial buildings in compliance with applicable building codes.

• Zoning – on Planning Division page. For more information click here.

• Weights and Measures inspects weights and measures devices for accuracy and integrity.

For more information click here.

Planning Division

Promotes the orderly growth of the City by helping citizens and policy makers visualize Hartford’s growth opportunities, and provides professional and administrative services to the:

• Planning and Zoning Commission

• Inland Wetlands Agency

• Historic Preservation Commission

• Historical Properties Commission

• Design Review Board

• Regulatory Land Use Boards and Commissions

• Zoning Board of Appeals
   

• Zoning examines plans and permit applications for the issuance of permits and inspects properties for zoning compliance and enforcement.

• Neighborhood Planning develops plans and strategies for neighborhood improvements and revitalization, and assists the fourteen Neighborhood Revitalization Zones to identify and eliminate blighted properties and to plan and implement neighborhood improvements by reviewing and approving neighborhood proposals.

For more information click here.