Bushnell Park South
The demolition of a state health department laboratory and major renovations to the State Office Building opened a window of opportunity to transform an area of the city that is currently filled with a number of parking lots into housing and significant economic development. CRDA is partnering with the city, the neighborhood, and the Bushnell Center for Performing Arts for its revitalization.
The development will be mixed-use retail and commercial, apartment rentals, and new home ownership. The Bushnell Park South project includes Elm, Clinton, West, Washington, Hudson, and Buckingham streets and Capitol Avenue, which are within a couple of blocks of Main Street and about Bushnell Park. Redevelopment of this area would form a connection with downtown and repurpose 12 acres of underutilized real estate.
While the Department of Administrative Services was responsible for the $205 million renovations to the historic State Office Building (SOB), the Capital Region Development Authority oversaw the construction of the $16 million garage to provide parking for the employees working in the area. The 350-space garage serves as the first facility of a “district parking” plan that will be shared by businesses and residents around the redevelopment.
CRDA continues to explore options for the development of a three-acre site owned by the Authority on Capitol Avenue adjacent to the State Office Building, within the Bushnell South area.
Concurrently, CRDA is working with Spinnaker Development to convert the historic 55 Elm into 161 new units of housing as Phase I of the Bushnell Park South plan.
