Riaz and Gladys Hussain knew the Bartholomew Avenue building they purchased via Hartford city tax auction in 2017 had issues before they placed the winning $210,000 bid.
What they found inside was still a shock.
There were dead dogs – thought to be victims of dog fights – outside the former Hanson-Whitney factory at 169 Bartholomew Ave. Dog pens were inside.
They also found a cock-fighting ring, mountains of construction debris and trash, and even an illicit marijuana grow room in the basement of the heavily-blighted, 90,000-square-foot building.
Riaz and Gladys Hussain knew the Bartholomew Avenue building they purchased via Hartford city tax auction in 2017 had issues before they placed the winning $210,000 bid.
What they found inside was still a shock.
There were dead dogs – thought to be victims of dog fights – outside the former Hanson-Whitney factory at 169 Bartholomew Ave. Dog pens were inside.
They also found a cock-fighting ring, mountains of construction debris and trash, and even an illicit marijuana grow room in the basement of the heavily-blighted, 90,000-square-foot building.
East Hartford is gearing up for a multimillion-dollar effort to revitalize its dingy Silver Lane corridor by acquiring multiple large, dated and underperforming buildings for redevelopment.
City officials are moving to adopt a strategic plan, developed under a $50,000 contract by East Hartford-based real estate advisors Gorman + York.
The plan – which will be the subject of a public forum next Wednesday – seeks to stop the decline of the Silver Lane corridor