The city of Hartford sold the Church Street Parking Garage to the state of Connecticut for $14 million on Monday.
The state will finance the purchase using bonds.
Mayor Pedro Segarra had said previously that proceeds from the sale would help to balance the city's budget for the next fiscal year and added that the purchase will help him attain his goal of avoiding a mill rate increase for Hartford residents.
"Our budget is balanced with this now. This was counted in as revenue so we will balance this in for this year," Segarra said Monday.
The mayor initially announced plans to sell the garage as an asset for his FY2014 budget. Segarra and members of his staff negotiated the deal over the past year and carried it over the finish line Monday.
Gov. Dannel Malloy said following the meeting of the Bond Commission that he and his administration viewed the acquisition of the parking garage as the first step toward a revitalization of the XL Center.
"At some point, we’re going to have to make a decision and I believe there should be an XL Center or its equivalent in the capital city," said Malloy.
Local
The commission also approved $500,000 in funding for renovations at the XL Center but Malloy indicated that he is on board with a much grander plan for the entertainment and sports venue in downtown Hartford.
A study published several months ago estimated it would cost around $500 million to renovate the XL Center to make it competitive with other similar venues around the country. However, the same study estimated that demolishing the existing structure and build a new facility from scratch would come in at roughly half the cost.
Malloy said he thinks developers and Connecticut residents need to take those figures seriously and added that the parking garage is part of that. He said making a purchase from a municipality will only happen when it makes sense.
"Only when it’s in our best interest and it’s in our best interest to acquire that parking facility because it is a lynchpin to the development of the XL Center or the replacement of the XL Center," Malloy said.
