Students at the University of Connecticut’s campus in downtown Hartford are now able to experience college residentially thanks to the grand opening of a new permanent dormitory complex. Since opening in 2017, the regional facility operated exclusively as a commuter campus.
“This will be a major benefit to Hartford, to local businesses, and major employers, and most importantly, to our students,” UConn President Radenka Maric said at an Aug. 17 event commemorating the opening.
The new residence hall, located on the pedestrian-only Pratt Street, is just a short walk from UConn’s primary educational facility in Hartford, the Hartford Times Building on Front Street — and not too much further to the School of Social Work and School of Business annexes at Constitution Plaza.
The four-story building, which housed formerly vacant law offices, was renovated to include 50 furnished suites for up to 200 students. Amenities include a fitness room, a game center and conference rooms in addition to study spaces and the building’s original natural-light central atrium.
UConn also says there is a waiting list for the housing, complementing higher enrollment and retention at the Hartford campus.
Even closer to the dorms, however, are numerous dining, boutique shopping and entertainment destinations — including Peoples Bank Arena, home to UConn athletic contests, professional sports and special events — and soon, to over 50,000 square feet of UConn classroom and laboratory space.
“We won’t just study here, but we will be building a life right in the heart of the city,” said Arielle Crichlow, a seventh-semester political science student, at the ribbon-cutting.
She will also be one of the building’s first resident assistants.
“By supporting students with these residential opportunities, UConn isn’t just offering a place to sleep but a place to belong,” she said. “We have space to grow into leaders, to engage deeply with downtown Hartford’s vibrant culture, and truly call the city our home.”
Increased enrollment at the Hartford campus last year prompted the university to institute some near-campus housing as a pilot through leasing apartments at the Donaghue Residences on nearby Main Street.
The Pratt Street project, a partnership between UConn and developers Lexington Partners, Shelbourne Global Solutions and LAZ Investments, cost $29 million — partly funded by $5 million in grants, including $3 million from state urban development funds and $2 million from the city of Hartford plus a multi-year tax agreement. The Board of Trustees approved the deal in May 2024.
Shelbourne will continue to own the property, with UConn holding a master lease for 20 years.
According to officials, thousands of dollars in contributions from corporate sponsors, including the Travelers Insurance Companies, The Hartford and the Global Atlantic Financial Group, will go toward housing scholarships for Hartford-based students.
“Now all but one of our regional campuses has a housing component, which is such an important part of our student experience,” said Board of Trustees member Thomas Ritter at the opening ceremony.
The new residence property is the latest cornerstone of the state’s “UConn IN Hartford” initiative, which aims to establish Hartford as a “college town.”
“We want more activity in our streets, more customers for our small businesses, and more people experiencing Hartford after the workday ends,” said James Woulfe, the chief of staff to Hartford mayor Arunan Arulampalam, at the ribbon-cutting. “The students living here…they’ll begin to see Hartford not simply as the place they went to college, but as the place where they can start a career and a life.”
UConn Residential Life describes the new residence hall as “offer[ing] a distinctly urban college experience that blends convenience, opportunity, and energy.” They also said a UConn police outpost and further partnerships with local law enforcement support student safety at the new site.
Students move into the new Pratt Street Residence Hall starting Aug. 29.
UConn has operated an extension campus in the Hartford metro area since the 1940s, originally designed as a junior college model at branches across the capitol city. In 1970, a new multi-building Greater Hartford Campus opened in West Hartford and acted as UConn’s second-largest satellite location until 2017, when the Hartford Times Building on Prospect Street was remodeled into UConn’s current Hartford location.