Park Planning & Development
When Riverfront Recapture was established in 1981, the Connecticut River was isolated from Hartford and East Hartford by flood walls and an interstate highway. The river was dirty and its banks were overgrown and uninviting. Thanks to the efforts of a public/private partnership put together by Riverfront Recapture, the riverfront has evolved into a beautiful green oasis that welcomes urban residents and visitors. These efforts have national recognition and earned prestigious awards such as the Waterfront Center’s Top Honor Award.
Riverfront Recapture has built a respected reputation for our unique knowledge and experience in developing an urban waterfront that is subject to flooding, and we are often sought out by other organizations across the country for our waterfront planning expertise.
Our Riverfront parks lie entirely within a flood plain, which means that the Riverfront will always remain a public greenway for recreational use. But as the Riverfront parks have become vibrant destinations that draw large numbers of people, they have become catalysts for economic investment, with development projects being located as close to the parks as possible. Since public access was restored to the Riverfront in downtown Hartford, for example, a convention center, a science center, a hotel and an entertainment complex have emerged on land that is connected to the Riverfront parks. Hundreds of apartments are planned for land within easy walking distance to the parks. Near the parks in East Hartford, hotels and a new Goodwin University campus is flourishing.
Ongoing Projects
In conjunction with a variety of local government and private sector partners, Riverfront Recapture is overseeing the development of two very important projects that will dramatically change the Connecticut River in the Metro Hartford area.
Completed Projects
Solar Panel Installation
Solar Panel Installation Furthers Riverfront Recapture’s Commitment to Green Infrastructure Riverfront Recapture has completed the installation of 113 solar panels atop the roof of the
Columbus Boulevard Bridge
Replace railings and lighting along the pedestrian bridge.
Riverwalk North & Boathouse Improvements
Riverwalk North and Boathouse Site Improvements Construction of Riverwalk North and the Boathouse site improvement project began in the summer of 2005 and should open
Park Development
Quick Facts
| New Land | 60.5 |
| Hartford -Windsor Riverwalk area | 155 |
| Riverside Park | 64.5 |
| Riverwalk North | 2.2 |
| Riverfront Plaza | 7.8 |
| Riverwalk South | 9.9 |
| Charter Oak Landing | 18.8 |
| Great River Park North | 4.9 |
| Great River Park Central | 13.8 |
| Great River Park South | 16.3 |
| 353.7 |
THIS, BUT SHORTER
Riverfront Land Development
The last quarter of 2019 was productive as numerous parts of the project development moved forward. In November, Riverfront Recapture worked with Fuss & O’Neill to complete a $500,000 Federal Environmental Protection Administration grant application for Brownfield site remediation. Multiple regulatory site walks were held in October and November with CT DEEP, USACoE, Greater Hartford Flood Commission, Federal EPA and Fuss & O’Neill to review existing conditions and discuss Riverfront Recapture’s proposed changes. Jay’s Landscaping was onsite for the better part of three days in early December collecting and consolidating large pieces of concrete, plastic pipe, trash, wood poles, and miscellaneous pieces of steel that were scattered about the property and on the inaccessible portion of the Windsor State Meadows. The materials will be disposed and recycled as part of the building demolition. Our contract with Fuss & O’Neill to provide the design and permitting services associated with the riverwalk, cove, environmental remediation, and fill area on both our land and the Windsor State Meadows was negotiated and should be signed the first week of January. A funding application was submitted and approved by the Mortensen Foundation in late December. The $104,500 grant will go towards the outstanding balance on the land purchase and partially fund the interim storage building to be constructed on the property. And last, but not least, discussions with CT DEEP continued on the land use agreement for annexing approximately 20 acres of the Windsor State Meadows that will be incorporated into the larger park project.
Great River Park Improvements
The Great River Park Improvement project moved forward with staff developing a “Request for Qualifications” that will be advertised on RRI and Town of East Hartford’s websites and on the State Department of Administrative Services contracting portal for local engineering firms to consider. The draft RFQ was sent to CRDA for their review and will be advertised online in early January. Riverfront Recapture finally received the correct parking lot light poles from the manufacturer to replace the incorrect poles shipped to the park in September. The new poles and fixtures were installed on November 8th to complete the LED lighting upgrade in the park. Riverfront Recapture staff started work on mapping and categorizing the riverbank erosion from the boat ramp to the Hockanum River. Over the last decade, the park has lost numerous tree along this stretch due to beaver damage and the subsequent vegetation loss has allowed the river to erode the banks threatening the parking lot and riverwalk in many locations.
Hartford to Windsor Riverwalk
The primary focus of the last quarter was relocating the northern terminous from the Weston St cul-de-sac to the southern border of the Riverfront Land property. While ConnDOT recognizes the reason, the design, permitting and construction costs associated with the change need to be fully vetted. A meeting with ConnDOT and the City of Hartford has been scheduled for January 8, 2020 to hopefully resolve the issue and keep the project moving forward.
Mortensen Riverfront Stage Canopy Improvements
As part of the on-going effort to correct the lack of coverage provided by the new fabric roof, Tensile Structure Systems (TSS) submitted a second and third redesign for the stage canopy fabric in the last quarter of 2019. Both revisions provided more coverage than the current fabric, but still fall short of covering all of the steel supporting structure. Riverfront Recapture has asked TSS to revise the design again so that the fabric provides the full amount of coverage needed to properly cover the supporting structure. Boathouse Exterior Improvements The 2019 Boathouse exterior improvement project wrapped up in December with the replacement of the emergency light fixtures and the second stair riser in the main entrance. This work is in addition to the siding and trim repairs and a fresh coat of paint for the entire exterior surface.