FROM GMTODAY: On Feb. 12 the city’s Common Council approved a contract with development consultant Vandewalle and Associates to continue advising the city for at least a year on implementation of a downtown economic development plan created by the company, changes in the city’s Smart Growth Plan and a certified survey map of a planned housing development that will add dozens of housing units to the city. Part of the plan for downtown redevelopment calls for the construction of a downtown hotel, creating catalyst businesses and developing more housing in the area. Changes in the city’s Smart Growth Plan call for the designated use of an area along Highway 83 be changed to allow for a new multi-unit housing development by area developer Mark McCune. Tom Hostad, executive director of the Hartford Economic Development Corporation, said approving the Master Plan changes and the downtown redevelopment plan are parts of another step to aid economic growth. “Housing is just one of the items that local business owners have said they need more of to retain and attract employees,” Hostad said. “They are increasingly seeing employees leave for jobs that are closer to where they are living.”
