iQuilt Expected to Rejuvenate Downtown Hartford

by Matt Bilodeau
DTHartford Staff

Downtown Hartford’s latest project is expected to not only rejuvenate a section of the city, but also to encourage sight-seeing and decrease the city’s traffic. Known as iQuilt, the project will add new green areas while creating safer pedestrian walkways. The area will take on the appearance of a quilt, with patch-like sections coming together, hence the name iQuilt.

Jackie Gorsky Mandyck, managing director for the iQuilt sponsorship, says it all began at The Bushnell. “They were looking for ways to connect to other cultural institutions and also looking at the parking available to their patrons at the State Office Building parking lot and seeing if there could be improvements made to the spaces connecting everything.”

When the Phoenix Insurance Company building on Constitution Plaza needed to be renovated, one of their executives was so impressed with the iQuilt proposal that he rethought his company’s renovation plans and decided to make the new area an environment with greenery.  “The hope is that iQuilt will encourage more businesses in downtown Hartford to do the same,” Mandyck said.

The project began in 2007 and so far has seen a renovated city hall, as well as 275 signs established at 45 intersections to help pedestrians and remind them how close together venues are in the downtown area. Construction work at Bushnell Park will begin in 2014 and Travelers Insurance has been working for the past two years on its plaza area, and expects to be finished in 2015. “iQuilt will connect the city of Hartford’s many cultural aspects, which is in fact ranked 14^th among U.S. cities,” said Mandyck. 

“The overarching theme of the iQuilt Plan is walking, culture and innovation.  We hope that by connecting cultural institutions, celebrating our past innovation and encouraging future innovation and making improvements to streetscapes that it will promote walking, which all of these tied together will make for a more vibrant downtown Hartford,” according to Mandyck.  

The iQuilt’s project manager hopes that more activity, better lighting, and new events will make people feel safer in the area and will let them walk around more. The walk from the Capitol building to the Connecticut River takes only 15 minutes. A path called the Green Walk hopes to encourage people to walk with a visually pleasing area along the path.

Douglas Suisman, head of Suisman Urban Design and a key architect involved in iQuilt, says, “This project wants to give people a reason to enjoy the areas on their way to and from restaurants and cultural attractions. It will tie the whole area together, giving the area a good feel.”

Jonas Maciunas, senior assistant to Hartford's chief operating officer, is working on a transportation system in Connecticut. “We want to fast track New Britain to Hartford in 2015 with a special bus route with its own dedicated line and numerous stops along the way,” he said. Hoping that more people will make use of the transportation system and walkways this will clear traffic congestion throughout the area.

According to Mandyck, the city of Hartford has very few vacancies. Most apartments and businesses are occupied today. “Hartford has a remarkably low vacancy rate at only 3 percent. The project is encouraging developers to renovate the vacant areas to create new apartments and businesses. The project also gained financial support from the city. Last year, the city embraced the iQuilt project. The city of Hartford earned $10 million and an additional $13 million,” she added.

Many new events have come out of iQuilt. This past fall, the iQuilt areas in downtown Hartford housed Envision Fest. This was a festival with food, entertainment, face painting, live music and hands-on activities. There will be another Envision Fest on September 21, 2013. 

The iQuilt team believes that Downtown Hartford is like the living room of the city of Hartford. They want it to welcome guests to Hartford with new restaurants, shopping, and scenery as well as encourage new residents and businesses to move there.