Opportunities Abound at the Former Site of 'The Hartford'

December saw one of the three buildings at the former site of "The Hartford" off of West Street sell to the Avon-based computer banking firm, the Connecticut Online Computer Center. Now it's time to find a right solution for the remaining buildings.

Let's call this a modern spin on community planning - Patch's version of a charette, a digital drawing board where all ideas are on the table.

Each week we'll present a new vacant building and ask you to tell us what you think would be the best use. Forget what zone it's in, ignore setback regulations, dump lot coverage rules and all the other zoning jargon that puts people most to sleep. If you had your way, what would you like to see there? What would be the best use for the community?

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Today we are going big. I mean really, really big. We are talking about 150,000 square feet of space and then some at the site of the former insurance giant office park on West Street.

Executive Boulevard was once bustling with cars and traffic as the home to The Hartford. That all changed when the insurance giant decided to bail as part of a company condensation effort in 2011. Now business is coming back.

Now what once housed thousands of employees in the land just north of Target and Lowe's Home Improvement stores is nothing more than a series of vacant lots and empty buildings.

It's time to think outside the box, the buns and the liquor stores and put a creative idea out there. You've got them and we want to hear them. The choice is now up to you. Put on your thinking caps people, it's time to voice your opinion and tell us - what would you put in this space?

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