There’s a housing boom in downtown Hartford and millennials look for an urban spot to call home.
Hundreds of apartments are under construction, with many more than that in the works. Only 3.5 percent of units are open, while it should be closer to 10 percent, and that demand has helped drive new development.
The Capitol Region Development Authority is overseeing 12 housing projects. Some are finished, some are underway and others are just about to get off the ground. In total, this could add possibly 1,500 units.
“We’re very excited. The units we’ve put out into the marketplace have been really well received. They’re actually out-performing our forecasts and the demand is still strong enough for us to look at a whole new series of projects,” Michael Freimuth, CRDA's executive director, said.
At the Radisson Hotel on Morgan Street, nearly 100 rooms on the tops floors are being converted to apartments.
On Asylum Street, near Union Station, crews will spend also about $20 million to build 60 spots and across from the new UConn Hartford campus on Arch Street, there are plans to build 54 apartments for also about $20 million.
Experts said millennials' desire to live downtown could benefit the whole city.
“What’s interesting is the dynamic that happens in retail, entertainment and restauranting. They all get strong with more residential living,” Freimuth said.
The goal set by the state legislature was 3,000 apartments and if all these projects come to fruition it would already meet about half of that.
State money is used as part of a revolving loan fund.
