The new downtown campus will be anchored by the former Hartford Times building.
UConn officials and the city of Hartford marked a development agreement milestone on Tuesday. The university is capping an effort to move its West Hartford campus to a new location called UConn Hartford.
The new downtown campus will be anchored by the former Hartford Times building, which will be restored and attached to a new, adjacent five-story building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. A public courtyard is planned, as well as street-level retail on three sides of the buildings. The school hopes to open its classrooms by the fall of 2017.
UConn is also looking to share space with surrounding public and private organizations that can be used as classrooms and office space. Possible locations include the Hartford Public Library, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Connecticut Science Center, and the Connecticut Convention Center -- where a shared, reduced-cost parking agreement for UConn employees and students is in the works.
The UConn Board of Trustees approved documents at a public event on Tuesday, at Burr Mall near the Hartford Times building, giving a green light to the relocation of operations and programs.
Governor Dannel Malloy attended, as well as representatives of the HBNitkin Group, the Capital Region Development Authority, the state Office of Policy and Management, and the city of Hartford.