When Marcia Leclerc steps down as East Hartford mayor, she will leave behind a more visually cohesive and modern town than when she first ran for office a decade ago.
Leaving the town with a “blueprint” is important to Leclerc, she explained on the Municipal Voice, a co-production between the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and WNHH. Leclerc announced in February that she will not run for re-election this fall.
“We have so much going on in town as far as projects,” she said. “So it’s how to use all the pockets of money that we have to the best use.”
One of those foundational projects is the East Hartford Senior Center. The new center has the kinds of extensive amenities the former center never had – grand pianos, pool tables, art rooms, and a gym.
Leclerc’s hope is that buildings like the center will spur the town to modernize the rest of their buildings and give the town a cohesive feel.
“We’ve unified all our purchasing,” she said. “All our buildings have the same paint color, the same unified tiles.”
This is in addition to a new town-wide sign system. The mayor said that the positive response surprised her, “never thinking that just changing all of the signage would really make that difference, but people are loving it.”
Just as she hopes to unify East Hartford, she hopes to see unification across the capital region.
“I think the infusion of development in Hartford really is a catalyst,” she said. “And adding a transportation component will really make a difference for the future of the area.”
The new plans to modernize Hartford’s highways could help. They would remove interchanges from prime development areas in East Hartford and infuse new life into the area.
The plans also call for a park that runs along the river into East Hartford.
Transportation in the area needs a bump. While rapid bus projects like the CTfastrak have been popular, investing in more stops and more rail will ultimately unify the area, Leclerc said.
LeClerc hopes to use some coronavirus relief dollars for economic development. The town is set to receive $37 million in federal aid from the American Rescue Plan. The town is still waiting on guidance on how they will be allowed to use those dollars.
East Hartford seems poised for growth. Goodwin College has expanded to become Goodwin University. Smaller companies like Rebel Dog Coffee Co. are moving into the area. The town has torn down the long-vacant Showcase Cinemas building. Aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney is ready to redevelop 300 acres of open land.
Over her decade in office, Leclerc has done the groundwork for this future growth.
“I think that it’s important for us as a community to have a planning blueprint in place that despite who is seated in this position, they can really move the town forward.”