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Hartford, Farmington Look To Develop A Piece Of Gold

86-ACRE WOODED PARCEL COULD BE A NEW OFFICE PARK

By Jeff Cohen

November 19, 2012

The city of Hartford and the town of Farmington are working together to turn 86 acres of forested land into office space.

The city owns about 1,000 acres of wooded property in Farmington, land it has had for nearly a century since it was acquired from the old Hartford Water Company. The land is near Batterson Park, and is at the intersection of Fienemann and Slater Roads.

Together with the town of Farmington, Hartford officials want to market the property, find a developer, and enter into a long-term lease for the site. They've formed a committee to do just that.

Wayne Benjamin is the city's economic development director. He says any money the city makes off of the lease will go directly into a fund intended solely for the maintenance of Hartford city parks.

"This can be an office park, it can be hotel, it can be a combination of the two, along with some ancillary retail."

Courtney Hendricson is the economic development director in Farmington. She says parcels like this one -- big, wooded, well-located -- are gold.

"Because it's on 84, and, as you know, we are really nicely developed in a corporate manner along 84, so this is really our last piece that is that big and has that much potential that isn't already developed along 84 right there."

There will be a series of public meetings on the plans, the next of which is Tuesday at 5:15 at the Hartford Public Library.