At eleven o'clock last Thursday, Bob Kraft, a new fan of the state of Connecticut, was announcing his exodus from the Commonwealth. At the same hour and a hundred miles away, Bob Epstein of the Abbey Group was stepping to the microphone to kick off reconstruction of the abandoned Sears building on Park Drive in the Fenway.

There was a sort of poetry in the juxtaposition of the two. While the press swarmed over Kraft, few were in sight at the Fenway. The Globe ignored the Fenway event altogether; the Herald ran a photo but no story.

Hartford is a deeply troubled city. Once a thriving residential metropolis, it has experienced a steady exodus of its middle class. No one — except those who can't afford to leave — lives in Hartford any more. It's a city with a lot of big buildings and a lot of daytime office workers, all of whom leave for the surrounding towns of Bloomfield, West Hartford or Glastonbury when the workday is done.

Boston, in contrast, is successful, and getting better. It too once faced the peril of suburban flight but it fought back. It focused on rebuilding communities, driving down crime and paying attention to quality of life issues. People stayed. Indeed, they moved in.

Now, in the latest, desperate measure to revive their capital city, Connecticut's leaders have decided to devote their energies and treasure to building a new sports megaplex for the Patriots. Will it turn Hartford around? It's doubtful. The new stadium and hotel will bring in fans. But what Hartford needs is not more visitors but more residents. This development does nothing on that score.

Meanwhile, the Sears building will reopen in the early part of the year 2000 as a combination cinema, retail mall and office complex. The size of the project is extraordinary. The building's new owners estimate that it has over 35 acres. One problem with living in the Fenway has been, as one activist put it, "there's no place to buy socks." That will change when the newly christened Landmark Center is completed. It'll have a Marshall's, Bed & Bath and other such shops.

The Landmark Center has many virtues, not least of which is that it is a thoughtful reuse of an historic structure. The Sears building has lain dormant for nearly 20 years, and during that dormancy the rest of the area has figuratively held its breath, waiting to see what happens. Once completed, the new complex will serve visitors and residents. Most critically, its reuse will spur development along a stretch of Boylston Street that has far too many vacant or under used buildings.

No one should be cheering that the Patriots are leaving the state. But in the long run that loss is of trivial concern. What does matter is that the "sleeping giant" that is the Sears building is coming back to life. It's hoped-for success will be yet another reason why people should live and work in Boston.