Simsbury Selectmen Choose Firm to Help Shape Future of The Hartford Campus

Simsbury selectmen have picked a firm to help shape the future of The Hartford campus.

Monday night, the board authorized First Selectman Mary Glassman to enter into a contract with Gateway Planning of Dallas, Texas. Under the contract, subject to final review by town counsel, Gateway would provide several services including property and market assessments and development of  “form-based” codes, including the process of presenting them to the Zoning Commission and revising as necessary. 

Development of the codes, which emphasize design standards, interaction and mixed use for a given property or area, will also include a public charrette process.

The final schedule will be posted soon but will include several days of a public input process set to begin on Sept. 6, said Hiram Peck, Simsbury’s director of Community Planning and Development.

Once codes are in place, Gateway will also provide “disposition support” to help with refined market analysis and more.

The contract is for up to $174,990, with the town paying $30,000 and The Hartford the balance.

“I think it shows a good faith effort by The Hartford,” said First Selectman Mary Glassman.

Selectman Sean Askham was on the panel that interviewed three finalists for the project and acknowledged Gateway was not his first choice. But he said all were solid firms and that Gateway was in a position to deliver on the ambitious timeframe. That sets site and market assessment and the charrette for September and the Development of form based code and disposition support for Oct. 2013 to Feb. 2014.

“We can’t waste a minute,” Askham said.

He also praised The Hartford for being good partners but cautioned residents that while the charrette gives a chance for great public input, the land is private and not public. 

 The Hartford has already retained C.B. Richard Ellis — New England Partners (CBRE/NE) to market the property and Glassman said there has also already been interest in the site.

“We’ve had a lot of interest for some exciting opportunities for the site,” First Selectman Mary Glassman said.

Earlier this year The Hartford announced it was consolidating operations and planned to sell the Simsbury building and campus.