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UConn Draws 13 Proposals For West Hartford Campus Relocation

by KENNETH R. GOSSELIN

March 11, 2013

The University of Connecticut drew 13 proposals from downtown Hartford property owners for relocating the university’s West Hartford campus into the city.

UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz told me this afternoon that the proposals were received by the March 6 deadline — and are already under review. Reitz said she could not comment on the proposed locations or whether any of the sites had already been considered by the university.

UConn was widely known to be closely evaluating the former Travelers Education Center on Constitution Plaza, after the university’s board of trustees approved $243,000 for the study. The university hasn’t commented on any sites it is considering, but a decision in January to widen its search raised questions about their intentions for the education center.

In addition to the Constitution Plaza site, the nearby One Talcott Plaza — near the old G. Fox building — has also been mentioned as a potential location. At 103,000 square feet, One Talcott Plaza is smaller than the 150,000 square feet of space UConn says it needs for classrooms, laboratories, offices, conference rooms and other uses.

The campus, however, could be in more than one building.

Day and evening enrollment will be at least 3,100 students and 300 faculty members. There must be parking for 850 cars during the day and 800 at night.

UConn’s decision to move its Greater Hartford campus back to Hartford followed a review of the aging West Hartford campus. The review showed it would cost nearly $25 million to repair and restore the deteriorated buildings and campus. In the past four years, the university has spent $7.2 million on repairs at the West Hartford campus.

The Greater Hartford campus opened in Hartford in 1939 and moved to various locations around the city. In 1970, it moved to its present 58-acre regional campus off Trout Brook Drive.