RIVERFRONT PLAZA Hartford`s Riverfront Recapture, Inc

project profile
RiveRfRont plaza
Hartford, ct.
Urban Design • Place Planning
Hartford’s Riverfront Recapture, Inc.
commissioned Brown & Keener to establish a
plan for the revitalization of the Connecticut
River waterfront. The major goals of the plan were
to connect the waterfront to Hartford’s central
business district and to link Hartford and East
Hartford, which are separated by the river. The
specific tasks in this overall effort were:
• An overall development, movement and open
space plan for the city blocks adjacent to the
waterfront.
a member of the
Group
• A pedestrian circulation plan linking
downtown and the river park, which were
divided by an Interstate Highway, a working
railroad track, and a 35-foot-high concrete
flood wall.
• The design of public improvements for the
parks, decks, terraces and bridges, which
physically connected the Downtown Hartford
with the River. This work was undertaken in
cooperation with the Connecticut Department
of Transportation as part of rebuilding I-91.
1315 walnUt st • sUite 900 • PhilaDelPhia, Pennsylvania 19107
20 soUth main st • sUite 2a • lambertville, new jersey 08530
t 215-751-1133
www.bkurbandesign.com
Riverfront plaza
Hartford, CT.
• The documentation, for bidding and
construction, of all these public improvements.
• The coordination of this work with other
landscape improvements concurrently being
developed for adjacent areas of the riverbank.
• Resolving the diverse requirements by various
interest groups and agencies: Handicap
Commission, Department of Environmental
Resources, Public Works, City Planning,
and ConnDOT.
The result of these many (and startling) actions
is a two-mile long river park that is linked to the
downtown area by a one-acre plaza and park over
the highway and a set of sloping grass terraces
that step down to the river edge. These terraces
offer views of the beautiful landscapes along the
rushing Connecticut river and of all the boating,
fishing and recreational activities that take place
on the water. The entire open space system, from
the old State House in the center of downtown
to Riverfront Plaza and Founders’ Bridge
Promenade, is designed to be as comfortable for
the individual as it will be for the large crowds
attending civic events.
client
• A plan and program for the public activities to
take place in these new outdoor areas.
riverfront recapture, inc.
• Designs for the new public walkway, located
on the existing highway bridge, which will
connect East Hartford, these open space
developments, and downtown Hartford.
joseph R. Marfuggi
860-713-3131
contact
• A master plan and design guidelines for future
improvements to potential development
parcels that are adjacent
to the public improvements and
whose value will be greatly enhanced
by this plan.
Brown & Keener
Urban Design • Place Planning