Years after its first buses rolled, CTfastrak delivering new development in West Hartford

With CTfastrak about to enter its ninth year, The Jayden mixed-use project in West Hartford is on track to be the latest instance of transit-oriented development along its route.

Hexagon New Park LLC intends to build a five-story, 70-unit apartment building on a New Park Avenue site near the busway’s Elmwood station.

The plan advanced last week when the town’s Design Review Advisory Committee gave its endorsement following months of discussions with the developer. If Town Planner Todd Dumais grants a permit, construction on The Jayden could begin later this year with an opening planned as early as the end of 2025, Tommy Li, a Hexagon partner, said in the fall.

The Jayden would become the latest of more than a half-dozen major residential and mixed-use projects that developers attribute to CTfastrak, the bus rapid transit system that links New Britain, Newington, West Hartford and Hartford. High-frequency shuttles run between those communities and link to traditional bus routes serving most other central Connecticut communities.

When the busway was built for more than $570 million, then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy predicted it would drive new residential and commercial development along the corridor, a 9.4-mile former freight rail line that was dominated by long-vacant factories and machine shops.

Since then, investors have built or started more than a half-dozen apartment complexes along the route, mostly clustered in downtown New Britain but also in West Hartford and Newington. In all, that represents more than 600 new apartments in the region, with many marketed to retired seniors and young professionals who want semi-urban living with either less driving or even none.

The Jayden would be a key victory for transit-oriented development advocates who defended the busway against heavy political opposition, with some conservatives in the General Assembly arguing that it was an expensive boondoggle.

In 2019, state transportation planners issued an analysis concluding the New Park Avenue corridor was ripe for an overhaul. That stretch of the busway parallels the main street from West Hartford’s Elmwood section to the Parkville section of Hartford.

“This industrial band is generally sandwiched between low-density residential and large-footprint commercial strip development,” they wrote. “However, recent and forthcoming investments have positioned the corridor for transformation. The New Park Avenue corridor has the potential to become a walkable, mixed-use and transit supportive environment.”

Two communities that quickly and most heavily made use of the busway’s ridership potential were New Britain and West Hartford. Both undertook planning studies and then amended their zoning rules to encourage higher-density housing and other development within walking distance of CTfastrak stations.

“The busway undoubtedly was the catalyst that allowed me the opportunity to redevelop so many of the sites around the station,” New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said Tuesday. “Access to public transit is important for a new generation of Connecticut residents and young people.”

The result has been a series of new housing starts in New Britain’s downtown; four of the largest projects alone — The Brit, The Highrailer, The Strand and the first phase of Columbus Commons — are creating more than 400 apartments near the CTfastrak station on Columbus Avenue.

In 2018, West Hartford’s housing authority developed the 616 New Park complex with 54 apartments, including 30 at affordable rates. Last year it opened The Residences at 540 New Park, which rents 41 of its 52 units at affordable rates.

The Jayden is being developed by a private builder, though, and will lease 80% of its one- and two-bedroom units at market rates. Mayor Shari Cantor credited the town’s new rules in 2022 that make transit-oriented development smoother and faster for the builder.

“This is the first development since we adopted our TOD ordinance which allows a development like the Jayden with 80% market rate units and 20% affordable to be approved with administrative approval,” Cantor said. “This project is exactly what we had envisioned when we adopted the ordinance.”

Cantor said town leaders expect the transit-oriented development zone will continue to attract new construction in the future, and are hoping for a local link to the CTrail Hartford Line to help. The commuter rail trucks run parallel to the busway in that section of West Hartford.

“We believe a Hartford rail line station in this corridor is consistent with the state’ goals and will only enhance the state’s investment in CTfastrak,” Cantor said.