Plant a seed, Grow a Forest

I want to start this post by sharing a Hartford Courant article with you: Nonprofit Group Seeks To Open Grocery Store In Downtown Hartford By Summer.

Yes, that's my apartment building, and yes, those are many of my comments below the article (see comments posted by Jweb330). When I moved into the building, the residential management team informed me they hoped to get a small grocery store into one of the first floor commercial spaces. I subscribe, via Google Alerts, to all news relating to downtown Hartford and was thrilled when I finally saw a published article regarding CommonGround's plans to bring a grocery store to downtown Hartford. This article followed great news that the city will receive an influx of students next fall with the opening of the St. Francis School of Pharmacy in Hartford 21 and that Hartford 21 will soon have another retail tenant, New Alliance Bank. To me, it seems as though we have all the fixins' to build a city from the ground up, and I, for one, am eager to do my part to support the cities as it grows. I plan to rally my fellow downtown Hartford residents and employees to support the grocery store in The Hollander on High and Asylum street, even if it is a bit of a walk (that's part of city life, isn't it?) so we can finally see a successful retail outlet in downtown Hartford. Afterall, that would be incentive for even more retailers to come to the area. For all who are so eager to see a larger grocer in the Hartford 21 complex, it likely will not happen until the larger grocer sees a successful model on a smaller scale.

There were lots of comments on the Courant article about robbings and the area not being safe. Well, I have a small dog and I often take him out as late as midnight and have never encountered such crime. It is an extremely quiet neighborhood and is even more safe in the daytime, the normal operating hours of a grocery store. I would not be any more scared to walk around this neighborhood than I would be walking around the streets of Boston or New York (again, we are talking about city life, aren't we?)

I could go on and on about this topic, so if anyone wants to start a dialogue, please comment and let's get some discussion flowing. Anyway, I give props and all my support to CommonGround as they make efforts to improve life for downtown Hartford residents and employees. In fact, I plan to email the offices today and see how I can help. I hope you will all join me in my efforts and be a part of the growth of downtown Hartford.

Hartford: a Cure for Retail Therapy

So I know I often complain, both in the blog and otherwise, about the lack of retail in my new neighborhood, downtown Hartford, but the other day I was thinking about the benefits of the area's 40% retail space vacancy. I recently started a new job, my first job since graduation college and also moved into my first apartment where I will be paying rent (and all other bills) on my own. Luckily, I am not repaying my college loans yet (thank you 6-month grace period!), but in a few months, that will be yet another expense to add to my budget. I'm slowly getting myself on my feet. When I leave my office at 6pm and walk home to my apartment, I do not pass any retail stores or quick food stops that I can run into quickly. If I was living in New York City, Chicago, or Boston, my attention would easily be grabbed by storefronts filled with clothing, electronics, and quick, cheap, and yummy food....if there was a tasti delite or a pinkberry down here, I'd be making a stop at least a few times a week. If I want to go shopping, even for the essentials, I have to make a special trip to, say, West Hartford. I have to walk to my car, drive a few exits, drive back, park in front of my building, unload my car, drive to my parking spot, and walk back. Yeah, it's really not that big of a hassle but it does mean that I'm less likely to spend money, at least during the week. So that's a good thing right? Don't get me wrong, I still wish some of those empty store fronts in downtown Hartford will fill up with holiday displays, etc. It's upsetting that all the beautiful, brand-new, prime location retail spaces on the first floor of my building are still sitting empty when once, when Hartford was a bustling city, they were full. but I'm seeing a silver lining/bright side here. Also, I've been getting this email of free things to do in Hartford. It's being forwarded to me from an old email account at work but it is definitely a great resource for free events in Hartford. I'll have to look into it and get you some more information.

Happy Hanukkah everyone and happy Monday tomorrow!

300 New Next Door Neighbors

That's right, I'm about to have 300 new neighbors. Well, not right away, but within the next few years. It'll start with about 65 new neighbors who will serve as the first entering class at St. Joseph's new School of Pharmacy located in Trumbull Street's Hartford 21. The first class is set to begin their two-year masters program in the facility in fall of 2010. Within a few years the student body could swell to over 300. As far as I know, there is no current plan to build student housing, but hopefully many of the graduate students will choose to live downtown, near campus. There is also the possibility that St. Joe's will lease what used to be the Goodwin Hotel on Asylum street and convert the antique hotel into student housing (with a bookstore and cafe, please?!?!?!). While some might complain about the possibility of a student housing complex being developed a few blocks from their home, I'm thrilled with the idea. First of all, these are graduate students, so they will be more mature and respectful, and likely have more disposable income. One article I read said that "eds and meds" help to fuel a city, and I could not agree more. Look at major college towns such as Amherst/Northampton, New Haven, etc. Industry thrives in these cities, in part due to the large student population. I'm hopeful and eager that the new School of Pharmacy (and the New Alliance Bank branch also moving into Hartfor 21) will fuel industry growth in the downtown Hartford area and as there won't be a cafeteria in the facility, so students will be supporting downtown food and retail establishments. Now a grocery store, that would really fuel development in the city. Someone has got to make it happen, and soon, if there is going to be an influx of students into the city: I hear the city is offering funding to the first real estate developer that attracts a supermarket; so what are they waiting for?!

Also, St. Joe's school is creating the second pharmacy school in the state and with health care career opportunities on the rise, this is sure to be a desirable program. It would be even more desirable if there was a grocery store (and other amenities....a laundromat?!?!) downtown....can you tell how I feel? It'll be exciting to watch the city grow!

Wireless Hartford?!

It's amazing how much life (and blogs) get put on hold without internet access. I just moved into my new place downtown this weekend and I don't have internet access yet. To be honest, I'm a bit suprised I can't pick up a wireless signal from anyone else in the building, but I guess most people have caught on to the whole stealing Internet thing. Anyway, AT&T offers DSL for $20/month...(and that's not an introductory rate!) which is far cheaper than Comcast. So I'm giving that a shot and it should be installed by next Monday. Hopefully it is decent service. I am skipping on the cable for now and just getting a converter box so I can get basic channels and relying on hulu and my netflix.

What ever happened to "wireless hartford"??? Isn't there supposed to be free wireless access in all of downtown? If there is, I can't seem to pick up the signal. Ah well, I'll spend tonight hanging some pictures in the new place.