Design Firms Chosen For $23 Million iQuilt Project

Last night, I attended the latest update on the iQuilt partnership for downtown Hartford and learned that the first major construction could begin early next year.

The areas targeted are State House Square, Gold Street/Bushnell Park and Union Station.

State Street would be reopened to bus traffic in the iQuilt’s “Intermodal Triangle Project. Rendering Courtesy of Suisman Urban Design/iQuilt partnership.

The city has chosen firms to design each of the areas has the goal of better integrating all different kinds of traffic: foot, bicycle, bus and train. This part of iQuilt is known as the Intermodal Triangle Project.

See my story from today’s Courant  here with details on what is planned for State House Square and Gold Street/Bushnell Park.

Last night’s meeting at the Hartford Public Library downtown, attended by about 100, had fewer details about Union Station.

The designers selected by the city are: Tai Soo Kim Partners, Hartford, for Union Station; Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., Watertown, Mass. for State House Square; BETA Group, Lincoln, R.I., for Gold Street/Bushnell Park. BETA has a Hartford office and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin has an office in Middletown.

A relocated Gold Street would create a new green space and new entrance to Bushnell Park from Main Street. Rendering Courtesy of Suisman Urban Design/iQuilt partnership

See more images shown at Wednesday’s update here.

Suisman Urban Design, which has guided the development of the iQuilt concept, will oversee the overall integration of the plans. Suisman, based in Santa Monica, Calif., is headed by Doug Suisman, a Hartford native.

Plans are expected to be finalized by by October and the work would be put out to bid in December. Construction on the $23 million project would commence in spring of 2014 with completion targeted for the fall of 2015.