In furtherance of the revitalization of Hartford’s Clay Arsenal neighborhood, the city is in the process of buying the Church of the Sacred Heart on Ely Street from the Archdiocese of Hartford for $480,000.
Mayor Luke Bronin signed a letter of intent to purchase the property subject to the approval of the Hartford City Council.
“The property is strategically located in the vicinity of the Arrowhead Gateway and Beyond Project and is now available for acquisition,” Bronin wrote in a Sept. 12 letter to the city council. “The purchase of the Church of the Sacred Heart represents a unique opportunity to pursue a creative adaptive reuse that will enhance the overall vision of the community and the neighborhood, and I urge your favorable consideration of this purchase.”
The acquisition of the church property is part of a broader redevelopment strategy by the city to push revitalization deeper into the city’s northern neighborhoods.
The city has long had its eye on the wider area around the three-way intersection of Main and Ann Uccello streets and Albany Avenue where it has acquired wide swaths of mostly abandoned properties. The church, closed in 2017, would be the latest.
The city views the area as critical to reconnecting downtown to the North End, torn apart by the construction of Interstate 84 in the early 1970s.
The city also hopes that the development of Dunkin’ Donuts Park, Hartford’s minor league ballpark, and the building of apartments and storefront space will move up into the nearby neighborhoods. with this area a crucial link.
A major project is now poised to begin at the intersection with the renovation of three buildings, including the Arrowhead Cafe building and the historic “Flat Iron” building. The $17.3 million project will create 43 apartments and 7,300 square feet of retail space and is being led by a partnership of Hartford-based San Juan Center and Carabetta Cos., based in Meriden. The financing includes $6.5 million in state funding from the Connecticut Communities Challenge Grant Program.
The funds for the purchase of the church would be drawn from the city’s Capital Improvement Plan. Bronin included with his letter a draft resolution that highlighted the importance of the acquisition.
“The purchase of the Church of the Sacred Heart represents a unique opportunity to pursue a creative adaptive reuse that will enhance the overall vision of the community,” the resolution said.
Efforts to reach Bronin and a representative for the Archdiocese for comment were not successful.
The city council on Monday held a public hearing on the matter, during which one city resident expressed her support for the acquisition as it fits within a greater plan for development.
“That sounds like a great thing considering the institution of Sacred Heart and what it does mean to the community,” Nyesha McCauley said, adding that she hopes city officials are mindful of Hartford’s history. “While I am for the purchase of Sacred Heart, whatever does happen to that building, to that edifice, to that neighborhood, to that piece of land, that we find a way as a city to memorialize what was there in that spot. … We should as a city make sure we are capturing and preserving our history.”
The church building, which opened in 1917, according to the Archdiocese, has not been in use since parishioners moved to St. Peter’s on Main Street in 2017 during a restructuring that saw the number of parishes reduced from 212 to 127.
The Archdiocese has listed numerous properties for sale on its website, including the church at 125 Market St. in Hartford.
On Monday, Waterbury’s Board of Aldermen approved a $400,000 purchase-and-sale agreement for the city to acquire St. Lucy’s Church on Branch Street, the Republican-American reported. The city plans to convert the property into a community-based health center.
