Connecticut

East Hartford tells final Silver Lane Plaza tenants that they’ll have to leave

Published

2 years ago

June 18, 2023

East Hartford tells final Silver Lane Plaza tenants that they’ll have to leave

East Hartford this month gave the last small shops and service businesses at Silver Lane Plaza notice to move out, but several of them say they have nowhere else to go.

The town acquired the long-dilapidated plaza by eminent domain in March, and now wants to demolish all three buildings and then offer the site to private developers.

But a handful of little businesses remain, and say they can’t afford to relocate or can’t find a new spot.

“All of us were just served eviction notices giving us 60 days. That’s Aug. 7, it’s not enough time,” said Herman Todd, owner of the Living Word Imprints embroidery and print shop at the plaza. “We don’t have anywhere to go. We’re coming up on the busy part of our season, we don’t have time to look for a place.”

To accommodate the remaining tenants, East Hartford has pushed back its schedule for tearing down the east and west buildings. Even so, it says there’s no way they can continue operating there in the long term.

The west building at the Silver Lane Plaza in East Hartford. (Don Stacom/The Hartford Courant)

“It would take $5 million to bring the buildings up to code. If we renovate that parking lot, it’s $3.8 million. And a lot of the tenants have been paying 50 cents to $1 a square foot for rent,” Mayor Michael Walsh said previously. “Now that we have the buildings, we have a better understanding of why no money was invested in the plaza — there was no money.”

Using state development funds, the town is offering up to $10,000 per business for moving expenses that they can document. It is also offering up to $25,000 for equipment that can’t be moved.

The town has said it will help the small businesses find new locations, but not at the vastly below-market-rate rents that they’d become accustomed to at the plaza.

Todd said Thursday that some of the plaza’s remaining tenants put money into improving their storefronts when they were owned by Leon Chen’s East Hartford Venture LLC. That money is lost if they must relocate, he said.

“They expect all of us to just move. I know some people have put thousands of dollars into the property, one put in over $100,000,” he said. “The city isn’t making a reasonable offer. The city says it’s not responsible for security deposits, that we have to go after the old owners. But my security deposit was over $5,000, one guy’s was over $14,000.”

The directory in the two-story west building of the Silver Lane Plaza shows how few tenants remain. (Don Stacom/The Hartford Courant)

Todd said tenants are talking with each other about how to proceed. A relative of the owners of the New York Hair Salon said his family is negotiating with the town and trying to decide how to proceed.

The final two businesses in the large, north building plan to move in July.

“When we purchased the business, we knew this was coming,” Bare Bones Boxing’s owner Brady Lee said recently. “It’s been in discussions for a very long time, so it wasn’t a surprise.”

Many shops and small offices shut down before last year, sometimes leaving behind debris and broken furniture. The plaza had been in decline for decades, and town officials have complained that the deeply rutted parking lot and vacant, derelict storefronts were a major turn-off for developers considering new residential or commercial projects in the Silver Lane corridor.

With Bare Bones and the Je Mart on the way out in July, the town has hired the Fuss and O’Neill engineering firm to identify asbestos and other hazardous materials there so demolition can be done in September.

For the east and west buildings, the timetable is a bit looser.

The north building at Silver Lane Plaza is expected to be empty in July, allowing demolition by the end of September. (Don Stacom/The Hartford Courant)

“The town is meeting individually with each tenant to identify relocation sites and compile financial records for possible relocation assistance,” according to a town report on Thursday. “The goal is to empty both buildings by Sept. 30, but no later than Dec. 31.”

Afterward, the town will seek a contractor to tear down both buildings. But even before that, East Hartford plans to invite developers around Labor Day to submit proposals for what they’d do with the site after it has been cleared. Walsh would like to choose a developer and reach a deal to transfer the property by late spring of 2024.

“The town does not want to be in the real estate business, emphatically not,” he said. “The reason we own it is because what was there was unacceptable, and nobody was coming forward to do anything. Government inserted itself because the private sector failed.”

Source link

Click to comment

Connecticut

Xavier vs. Connecticut Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Wednesday, December 18th

Published

7 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Xavier vs. Connecticut Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Wednesday, December 18th

The UConn Huskies have emerged from its poor showing in Maui last month to look the part of a Final Four contender yet again as we draw closer to the full swing of Big East play.

The Huskies are off an impressive win at Madison Square Garden against Gonzaga and return to Stoors to face a Xavier team that is going to be short-handed on Wednesday night. The Musketeers will be without leading scorer Zach Freemantle, who suffered an injury over the weekend in a tight loss against Cincinnati.

What’s the drop-off for the Musketeers? Let’s break it down with our betting preview.

Spread

Moneyline

Total: 147.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Xavier

Dayvion McKnight: With Freemantle out, a lot of the pressure will turn to McKnight, the team’s lead guard. The senior is a dead-eye three-point shooter, hitting 45% of his shots while leading the team in assist rate, but he’ll need to create more for himself to offset the loss of Freemantle, who can play both inside and out.

Connecticut

Liam McNeeley: The freshman has done a bit of everything in his first 11 games with the program, second in scoring and rebounding with nearly 14 points and more than six rebounds per game while providing sturdy defense on the wing. In UConn’s motion-based offense, McNeeley has slid in nicely as someone who can create his own shot, evident in getting to the free throw line 12 times against Gonzaga over the weekend.

The market has rightly moved against Xavier on the news that Freemantle will be out indefinitely, and the numbers are quite jarring at the impact he has on the roster.

Per Xavier: “Zach Freemantle sustained a lower body injury in Saturday’s game at Cincinnati. He will be sidelined indefinitely.”
Xavier losing it’s most important player as Big East play begins. @WCPO
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) December 16, 2024

When Freemantle is off the floor, the offense stays fairly stagnant, scoring about two points less per 100 possessions, but the defense falls off a cliff. Xavier goes from allowing 89.9 points per 100 possessions to 118, which is the difference between ranking 10th in that metric and 336th, per Hoop-Explorer.

The Musketeers won’t slow down the UConn offense without Freemantle on the floor as the Huskies are the best two-point shooting team in the country, which can be maximized without the team having its power forward that can play both along the perimeter and shut down the paint.

However, with a limited drop-off on offense, can the likes of McKnight and Ryan Conwell get the fast-paced Xavier offense going to do some scoring in what may be a blowout loss?

Since Sean Miller returned to the program in 2023, the average score of the Xavier-UConn games has been just shy of 155 points and I believe this total is over-adjusted for the loss of Freemantle, who didn’t play in either game last season.

KenPom projects this total at 150, and we have shown that the Xavier offense hasn’t fallen off that much this season with Freemantle off the floor, so I’ll play against the idea and back the over in what should be a high-scoring affair.

PICK: OVER 147.5

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Source link

Connecticut

Iowa State women no match for Connecticut, as Huskies post 101-68 victory

Published

15 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Press Room

Iowa State women no match for Connecticut, as Huskies post 101-68 victory

The Iowa State women had another chance to make a statement on a national scale Tuesday night.

They were denied.

No. 4 Conneticut jumped out to an impressive 36-10 lead after the first quarter on its way to a 101-68 victory. Sarah Strong, Ashlynn Shade and All-American Paige Bueckers all scored over 27 points, knocking down a combined 17 three-pointers.

Strong had 29 while Shade and Bueckers each scored 27. Kaitlyn Chen dished out eight assists for the Huskies (10-1), who were 20 of 34 from the 3-point line.

For the Cyclones (9-4), Audi Crooks had 22 with Sydney Harris adding 17 off the bench, including five made triples. Addy Brown and Emily Ryan each scored nine and had six assists.

Connecticut shot 57 percent from the field and held a plus-nine edge in rebounds. They also scored 14 points off 14 Iowa State turnovers while recording 27 assists on 37 made field goals.

Iowa State held a lead at 2-0 when Crooks made a jumper but the Huskies went on a 24-4 run from there.

The Cyclones open Big 12 Conference play when they close out 2024 at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Dec. 21. The Cowboys are currently 10-1 on the year and have scored 92-plus in each of their last three since a loss to Richmond.

Iowa State has lost all three games to ranked opponents this year, falling to defending national champion South Carolina and Iowa.

Source link

Connecticut

16-Year-Old Driver Killed In Crash, Mourned: CT News

Published

22 hours ago

December 17, 2024

Press Room

16-Year-Old Driver Killed In Crash, Mourned: CT News

Patch PM CT brings you breaking and trending news stories from all across Connecticut each weeknight. Here are the top stories from across the entire state:

The high school student killed in the crash is being mourned by many.>>>Read More.

The owners said it was a “tough blow” but the support of the community “means everything to us right now.”>>>Read More.

Mysterious drones have been spotted in the skies above Connecticut communities in recent days.>>>Read More.

Fire officials said two people and two pets were displaced by a house fire, however many Christmas presents and personal items were saved.>>>Read More.

Saturday, the Winter Solstice, may be the shortest day of the year, but you’ll still find plenty to do in Connecticut, all weekend long.>>>Read More.

Other breaking news stories across the state:

Source link