Last summer, we told you the story of plans to knock down two of the biggest and oldest public housing complexes remaining in the city of Hartford. Officials at the Hartford Housing Authority hoped that developers would think big when it came to what's next.
But it turns out they didn't think big enough.
The authority said it declined all of the proposals it received to redevelop Westbrook Village and Bowles Park. It has officially canceled its solicitation while it works to amend it and, eventually, to ask developers to try again.
Annette Sanderson, the authority's executive director, said, "While we appreciate the time that was spent by potential developers to respond to the solicitations for proposals, we feel that the process for evaluating the proposals did not provide the best outcome for the authority, its residents, and the City of Hartford."
In a letter to developers, Sanderson said that the authority's efforts to elicit a high number of creative responses from developers actually had the opposite effect. The result was a "limited pool" from which to choose, she said.
The authority said it plans to seek further input from residents, community stakeholders, and the city as it moves forward.