Rebecca Koladis

The Greater Hartford area offers buyers and renters a variety of housing options to choose from. West Hartford Center, with the newly completed Blue Back Square, is home to the Lofts at Blue Back, a popular rental option, as well as high end condos for purchase. With Whole Foods, an anchor tenant at Blue Back, living in the center has been an easy choice for many relocating to the area. <br/> <br/>There are vintage single family homes within walking distance of the center, built in the 1920's and 30's, as well as multi-family homes offering rentals at an affordable rate. Farmington Avenue connects West Hartford to downtown Hartford and offers many different apartment rentals as well. <br/> <br/>The West End of Hartford near Elizabeth Park (home of the largest public rose garden in the country) offers larger vintage homes with distinct architectural features, many built by the captains of industry of turn of the century. The University of Connecticut's School of Law is located in the West End and many of their students have found housing in the servants' quarters of these old homes while attending UConn Law. <br/> <br/> IM Pei designed Bushnell Tower located on Gold St. in downtown Hartford offers condos for sale as well as occasional rental units. Designed by IM Pei in 1969, Bushnell Tower is constructed of glass and concrete, affording its occupants great views and lots of sunlight. <br/> <br/>Other downtown options include rentals in the newly constructed Hartford 21 building as well as the Metropolitan and 55 on the Park. Occasionally, condos become available in the historic Linden building and on Charter Oak Street in the older Victorian homes that have been converted to condos. Downtown living puts a resident within walking distance of the state capitol, the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford Stage, Bushnell Auditorium as well as the Convention Center and new Connecticut Science Center.