Developer amasses 28 acres for mega entertainment and retail project in CT town

Developers behind the massive Port Eastside project that’s billed as transformational for East Hartford’s riverfront announced Thursday that they’ve purchased all four key properties for the 28-acre future site of an entertainment and retail complex with up to 1,000 apartments and condos.

Sometime in early 2025, the development partnership plans to tear down the 150,000-square-foot former office building at 99 Founders Plaza , where it plans 300 apartments in a new five-story complex.

But the group apparently has also fast-tracked a new component of Port Eastside: Remodeling the 19-story office tower at 111 Founders Plaza into 240 apartments.

“We are in the very early stages of bringing this thriving residential, entertainment and business zone to life, we are excited about giving East Hartford a revitalization project that echoes — and complements — the Hartford side of the Connecticut River and we are exploring ways to connect with our Capital City’s waterfront,” said Harris Simons, a principal at Simons Real Estate Group, one of the Port Eastside partners.

The partnership has spent between $20 million and $30 million to acquire the 99 Founders Plaza and 111 Founders Plaza buildings along with 300 East River Drive and 321 Pitkin St.

Details have been changing since the project was rolled out last year, but at its heart Port Eastside is the most ambitious plan to reshape the town’s riverfront since the Founders Plaza office park was constructed in the early 1970s. Founders Plaza was a modern and stylish initiative when it was new, but the aging office buildings have been losing tenants in recent years and occupancy suffered badly during and after the pandemic.

“Port Eastside will literally change the face of the town for those who travel along 1-84,” Town Council Chairman Rich Kehoe said. “It will significantly enhance our tax base, provide hundreds of good-paying jobs and provide places for people to live and enjoy the incredible natural resource there.”

The town has searched for ways to revitalize the riverfront area for more than six years, but it was only recently that the ambitious Port Eastside plan emerged from a partnership of investors and executives from Simons Real Estate Group in West Hartford, Manafort Brothers Inc. in New Britain, Hartford-based Lexington Partners, East Hartford’s Hoffman Auto Group, LAZ Parking in Hartford, MBH Architecture of West Hartford and REV Leasing of Houston.

Thursday’s announcement came after the partnership closed on the $1.75 million purchase of 321 Pitkin St., a 5.7-acre landscaped parking lot.

“By Port Eastside continuing to acquire more property, it demonstrates a commitment to the project and the greater development of the riverfront,” Mayor Connor Martin said Thursday afternoon. “This really aligns well with our vision of the future of that space, and Port Eastside has been a great partner to work with thus far.”

Kehoe agreed, saying “With this purchase, Phase 1 is now completed. The town continues to work with Port Eastside to proceed to actual development of this vision for apartments, retail and restaurants.”

Port Eastside has said it will build in phases, with the first stage being demolition of the five-story former Bank of America building as well as the parking garage for 111 Founders Plaza.

The next stages will be relocating the remaining office tenants at the 270,000-square-foot tower at 111 Founders, then rebuilding the office spaces as 240 apartments. Around the same time, the developers intend to construct new buildings for somewhere around 250 apartments at the 99 Founders site.

The current plan also calls for 400,000 square feet of entertainment, restaurant and retail space along with a transportation center and a 6.1-acre greenway stretching along 2,000 linear feet of the Connecticut River. There will be a pedestrian walkway, bike trail and rentable outdoor retail space, according to the developers.