Hartford, CT – The Hollander Foundation Center project was a renovation and restoration for a six-story historic building in Hartford. The old capitol building was renovated into 70-units of mixed-income rental housing, 26-spaces of underground parking, as well as 13,000sf of ground floor commercial space. This project is the first LEED® certified multifamily housing project to utilize historic tax credits in the state of Connecticut, as well as being the first affordable housing development in downtown Hartford.
The building was originally built in 1926. For this project, the main areas, including the lobby, stairways, hallway, and exterior of the building were designed to incorporate a true historic restoration, and the original artistic details were restored to their original condition. The apartments are all modern, functional spaces, with oversized, high-functionality windows that incorporate a great deal of natural light into the spaces, as well as the beautiful views of the city of Hartford, Bushnell Park, and the Capitol Building.
The building is a historical icon in the Hartford community, known as the old “Capitol Building”, and has many details that were beautifully restored as a result of careful collaboration of the project team far before construction began.
Unique restoration work on the project included finding high-efficiency windows designed to match the historic windows of the building, re-pointing of existing masonry exterior, and restoration of the original paintings and murals located in the vestibules and main corridor and stone restoration of the lobby. These original paintings and murals include metal-leafed allegorical figures molded after “The Genius of Connecticut”, which used to stand on top of the Capital Building Dome, and faux mosaic depictions of the Old State House and the Connecticut State Capital Building. Much care was also taken to repair the existing terra cotta exterior pieces, which were used to emulate actual stone and the terrazzo flooring located throughout the building. There was also extensive restoration work to the marble in the lobby area.
In addition to the many unique and special historic details of this project, its design also incorporated many green elements, and has achieved a LEED® certification. Green elements include: a green roof to promote water conservation and re-use, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, low flow plumbing fixtures, high-efficiency lighting with occupancy sensors in common areas, and a pre-sorting trash and recycling chute. These elements will reduce the building’s carbon footprint and will also provide a sustainable and efficient building for the tenants in years to come.
During the initial design of this project, LEED® Silver level of certification was the goal. The demolition contractor was able to separate and recycle almost all of the material being demolished.
The green roof of this project required additional structural bracing elements within the building to support the extra weight. In addition to the green roof, different roofing membranes were chosen to provide durability under the green roof trays and provide reflection of sunlight in the areas where trays were not placed.
The design also incorporated energy-efficient boilers, air conditioning units, allowed for little to no air transference from one unit to next, and recycled the heating and cooling of common areas.
In addition to the intricate historic details and “above and beyond” LEED® certification level of the project, the building itself is a noteworthy addition to its community and will provide a positive impact on society in a number of different ways. The client on this project, Common Ground, is a pioneer in the development of supportive housing and other research-based practices towards their goal of ending homelessness.
The Hollander project has provided Common Ground with 70-units of mixed-income housing that will allow them to provide opportunities to those in need in an area of Hartford that previously lacked affordable housing availability entirely.
The community will also benefit from the retail space on the ground level which will provide employment, income, and will increase commercial traffic to this area of downtown Hartford. This once-vacant building set to be leveled into a parking lot will now provide commerce and housing in this area, rather than the hazard of an abandoned building.
The construction of this project had an excellent quality control plan from the beginning. Due to the age and historical nature of this project, the design team was on board to make quick and excellent decisions regarding the unforeseen conditions from the start. Quality and craftsmanship was a key point of scope review meetings with all trade contractors far before the start of demolition and construction.
The Hollander Foundation Center project team overcame many challenges throughout this project, and was still able to turn the building over on time, and at a more efficient level than originally planned for.
