West Hartford’s recent housing additions span affordable conversions and market-rate construction. More than 1,000 new apartments and condos are being added as the town responds to housing demand: a former synagogue is now home to dozens of residents, the former Children’s Museum site has become a 172-unit apartment complex, and a former hotel has been redeveloped entirely as affordable housing.
The scale of that construction is set against a competitive resale market. In its analysis of more than 200 Connecticut ZIP codes with at least 2,500 residents, CT Insider examined housing-market competitiveness, family appeal, appeal to younger workers, services for older residents, and home value relative to income. The outlet reported that West Hartford is largely built out. Its figures show that in ZIP code 06107, 79% of homes sold above asking price after a median 18 days on the market; in 06119, 72% sold above asking after a median 25 days.
A Synagogue Reborn as Affordable Housing
The West Hartford Housing Authority redeveloped the former Agudas Achim Congregation building as The Elle at North Main. The synagogue had been vacant since the congregation merged with another congregation in 2018. The Elle has 49 apartments, 39 designated affordable, according to CT Insider. It welcomed its first residents in August 2026.
The project retained the synagogue’s stained-glass facade and incorporated parts of the original building, including a community room in the former worship space and a two-story townhouse unit that uses the former rabbi’s office. Jill Corrado, executive director of the West Hartford Housing Authority and CEO of Trout Brook Realty Advisors, told the outlet that residents moving in made the project’s impact tangible. The Elle offers units for people earning between 30% and 60% of area median income.
Corrado also described the town’s affordability pressures, saying rents and security deposits can price people out and that rents can reach $2,500 or $3,000 a month. The project drew on West Hartford’s affordable-housing incentive fund, to which the town dedicated $9 million, mostly from pandemic relief funds, according to CT Insider’s earlier coverage of the town’s affordable housing plan. Separately, We-Ha | West Hartford News reported that The Elle, at 1244 North Main Street, was an approximately $27 million adaptive-reuse project, with 10 unrestricted units and the remainder affordable.
Luxury Apartments Fill Up Fast at the Old Children's Museum Site
On the market-rate side, One West Hartford opened as a 172-unit development at the site of the former Children's Museum on Trout Brook Drive, a project the town's mayor and its developer both point to as evidence of the area's pull. As reported by NBC Connecticut, the roughly $50 million complex has been leasing quickly amid a statewide housing crunch, with average Connecticut apartment rents climbing to about $2,000 a month, according to Zillow. Housing advocates cited in that report estimate Connecticut needs more than 100,000 additional housing units to meet demand.
Leasing data compiled by Hartford Business showed 119 of the complex's 172 apartments occupied or pre-leased, nearly 70% of the units, with one-bedroom units renting for between $2,950 and $4,075 a month. Nine income-restricted apartments are also included in the building, with reported monthly rents of $1,749 for one-bedrooms and $2,099 for two-bedrooms. The developer, Continental Properties, bought the nearly four-acre site from Kingswood Oxford School for $10.57 million in 2023.
Howard Rappaport, principal of Continental Properties, said West Hartford combines a vibrant downtown with suburban conveniences — restaurants, shopping, and offices all close at hand, per CT Insider's report. He pointed to the town's schools and municipal services as part of the draw. Mayor Shari Cantor, who has served for 10 years, said the town's engaged, diverse, safe, and dynamic community contributes to its desirability, identifying schools and public safety as foundations of the community.
Town Investment and a Growing Affordable Pipeline
West Hartford's housing push isn't happening in isolation. The Town Council approved an affordable housing plan by an 8-1 vote in October 2024, projecting 522 affordable units coming online over the following few years and pushing the town's recognized affordable-housing share from 7.6% to 9%, still short of the state's 10% goal, per CT Insider. The former West Hartford Inn has separately been redeveloped as The Camelot, a 100% affordable housing complex.
What the affordability and approval figures show
The measures and dates matter when comparing West Hartford’s affordable-housing share. The Connecticut Department of Housing’s 2020 Affordable Housing Appeals List recorded the town at 8.03%, a dated state-list figure distinct from the 7.6% cited in the town’s more recent plan. Those figures alone do not establish a year-over-year trend or comparison with nearby suburbs. For national context, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey counted 20.0 million rented units where households spent more than 30% of monthly income on housing costs; that is not a West Hartford estimate. A separate proposal illustrates a different project-review outcome, not an addition to the developments described above. The Hartford Courant reported that the Town Planner turned down Vessel Technologies’ proposal for 120 apartments at 29 Highland St. on Jan. 16, citing incomplete plans and safety questions. That report does not establish how the 8-30g appeals statute applied to the proposal.
The council has also approved other large developments, including a 322-unit apartment complex at 1700 Asylum Avenue, with 26 units, or 8%, designated as affordable, according to Hartford Business's reporting on that project. Elsewhere in central Connecticut, The Winston in New Haven opened in January 2026 with 283 apartments, including just under 60 affordable units, and The Portrait at North Crossing added 237 apartments on Main Street in downtown Hartford this year, as noted by The Hartford Courant.
Town officials are backing the growth with infrastructure spending of their own. West Hartford plans to invest $10 million in reconstruction of its town center, and Cantor said town infrastructure investment can attract private investment and produce a multiplier effect. Taxes increased 4.4% under the town's approved budget for that year. Meanwhile, Rob Levine, owner of West Hartford-based ERA Hart Sargis-Breen Real Estate, said the town's inventory remains at historic lows with homes drawing multiple bids over asking, pointing to parks, pools, nightlife, and proximity to Hartford, New Haven, Boston and New York as part of the appeal. Redfin data for September 2026 showed the 06107 ZIP code's median home sale price at $615,000, down 1.6% year over year, with homes averaging 17 days on the market, up slightly from 16 days the year before.
