Our first meeting of the 2024-25 year

Autumn officially arrives this week and Hartford is still hopping with outdoor events! Farmers markets, yoga in the parks, puppy hours and street salsa on Pratt, historic tours of the Arch in Bushnell Park and the Ancient Burying Ground on Gold - there is still tons to do before the leaves start turning. Not sure what is happening when? Visit the “Things To Do” page of our website, or the Hartford.com website.

Your NRZ has two big projects in the works right now:

  1. Our newly formed Community Outreach Working Group is hard at work planning a campaign to engage more of our neighbors. If you own a business or run an organization in SoDo, please take this two-minute survey. Your input will be very helpful as the committee develops a welcome/info kit, marketing materials, door-knocking, and social activities for this campaign. If you are interested in volunteering for any of the above, send an email to sodonrz@gmail.com. All are welcome.

  2. In conjunction with updating our NRZ Strategic Plan, we are also developing a ten-year Neighborhood Plan, with help from the City of Hartford Planning Division and FHI Studios. All neighbors are welcome to their upcoming meetings and workshop; scroll down for dates and locations. This team is also surveying how you live, work, and play in the neighborhood: how often you visit any of the local businesses or spend time with your neighbors, what other businesses you wish we had in SoDo, and what would make our neighborhood better. Your feedback is important! The survey takes only five minutes; if you wish, you can remain anonymous. The survey closes September 30.

Our next SoDo meeting is Wednesday, September 18 at 6:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church of Hartford, 136 Capitol Avenue (enter through the small white building to the right of the main church.) Or join us via Zoom. Here are the Meeting link and Agenda.

Are you interested in taking a more active role in our neighborhood? We have openings on our Board as well as our Social, Community Outreach, and Neighborhood Planning Committees. Please consider joining your neighbors in improving our community. For more information, send an email to sodonrz@gmail.com.

Neighborhood Planning Committee meetings:

  • Public Workshop to develop the South Downtown Neighborhood Plan: Tuesday, October 1, at 6 PM at Rinconcito Peruano, corner of Main and Capitol. 
  • Committee Meeting: Tuesday, October 15, at 6 PM, at the Dollard Pavilion, located at the Bushnell Park Carousel.
  • Committee Meeting: Tuesday, November 12, at 6 PM, at the Dollard Pavilion, located at the Bushnell Park Carousel. All are welcome!