Plainfield rejects Costco's request to rezone land for massive warehouse
Alison Cross
Plainfield — Costco’s controversial proposal for a massive
1.1 million-square-foot distribution center on the Plainfield-Canterbury town
line hit a major roadblock on Tuesday after the Planning and Zoning Commission
rejected the company’s request for a zone change.
Costco’s plans to construct a tractor-trailer driveway from
Route 12 in Plainfield to a future distribution center in Canterbury hinged on
the company’s application to rezone 150 acres of residentially zoned RA-30 land
and 60 acres of I-1 Industrial land into an I-2 Industrial classification.
After three months on the commission’s agenda, the requested
change was rejected on Tuesday.
Vice Chairman John Meyer, Secretary June Gagne and Alternate
Catherine Mestemaker-Harris voted against a motion made by Alternate Zulfiqar
Ali and seconded by Chairwoman Karla Desjardins that would have rezoned the I-1
parcel at 1197 Norwich Road and its abutting property at 407 Tarbox Road into
I-2 Industrial and left the remaining RA-30 parcels untouched.
“I think it's reasonable for people that are living in a
residential section to expect that area to stay residential, so I don't see any
reason for a zone change,” Mestemaker-Harris said during a discussion before
the vote.
Gagne expressed sympathy for abutting property owners who
spoke against the project during public hearings, and highlighted the impact of
increased truck traffic on the community.
“I don’t like the project at all,” Gagne said.
"We have more development than we have conservation
right now," Gagne added later in the discussion. "The balance is
off.”
During the vote, a member of the audience raised a point of
order, saying that if a member of the commission has shown a bias toward the
project, they should not be allowed to vote on the application. Desjardins did
not recognize the point of order and told the audience member that concern
could be raised in an appeal, not during Tuesday’s meeting.
Seth Katz, assistant vice president of real estate for
Costco, declined to answer questions about what the outcome means for the
project.
“We don’t comment publicly outside of public presentations,”
Katz said.
Selectman Michael Surprenant, who backed Costco’s proposal,
deferred all questions on the decision to the first selectman, adding that he
suspected that “there’s going to be some litigation tied to this.”
First Selectman Kevin Cunningham, who supported the project,
said he appreciated the commission's work, and added that he hopes “they do the
same diligence on every project” after noting that “the board labored over this
issue for a few months.”
“It’s really going to be up to what Costco would like to do
at this point,” Cunningham added. “I'm sure they're going to regroup and talk
about what their next steps will be, and I'm going to reach out to them and see
what they're doing.”
Pauline Blais, whose home in the Toper Road, North Street
and South Street neighborhood would have backed up against the proposed
warehouse facility, said she was “so happy” about the commission’s decision.
“Costco doesn't think enough of our area to build a store —
they just want the land for a warehouse,” Blais said. “All they want Plainfield
for is a pass through to get onto the highway. They're going to ruin our roads,
they're going to congest traffic, it's going to be awful. So yes, I’m thrilled
to death with this (decision).”
Port Eastside in line for $6 million state grant to support 240 new apartments in East Hartford
EAST HARTFORD —
A plan to overhaul 30
acres of commercial land along the Connecticut River will
be supported by a new $6 million state grant.
State legislators announced Tuesday that the
State Bond Commission would approve in the near future a $6 million
grant through the Community Investment Fund for Port Eastside, an $840 million
redevelopment of 30 acres of land on and surrounding Founders Plaza, with as
many as 1,000 residential units alongside a new parking garage and accompanying
storefronts and restaurants.
The East Hartford delegation said in a statement that the $6
million grant would assist the developer with a planned conversion of the
19-story office tower at 111 Founders Plaza into an apartment
building with some 240 residential units and "high-quality
amenities."
Other funding publicly discussed for the project
includes a
$6.5 million state grant secured by East Hartford in 2024 to help pay
for the aforementioned demolition, $170,000
from the State Bond Commission in 2025 for preliminary parking garage
designs, and an anticipated $20 million loan from the Capital Region
Development Authority discussed
by development partners in 2025.
Bruce Simons, partner with Port Eastside and principal of
Simons Real Estate Group, said in a prepared statement Tuesday that the grant
is "essential" to transform the distressed office building, a
cornerstone of the wider development that the team is excited to move forward
in collaboration with the town of East Hartford.
"Today's action by the Community Investment Fund 2030
Board will help catalyze the transformation of a dormant commercial district
into a vibrant, mixed-use residential, commercial, entertainment, and retail
neighborhood," Simons said.
Site work at Founders Plaza is underway, with Simons stating
Tuesday that demolition of the former Bank of America and parking garage is
expected to be completed by the end of April. Port Eastside developers have
said the project's next steps will be construction of a new parking garage and
conversion of the 111 Founders Plaza building.
State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, said in a prepared
statement Tuesday that the project is "the perfect kind of community
investment," a development that expands housing opportunities, creates
jobs, and generates more than $1 million in local tax revenue.
Port Eastside was announced in 2023 as a plan to bring
vitality back to an underutilized commercial area fronting the Connecticut
River. Redevelopment of Founders Plaza has been a focus of town administrators,
including former Mayor Mike Walsh, who took office in 2021 and announced in
July 2023 that he would not to seek reelection so he could serve as a
"champion" for the project. At the time, Walsh said that "nine
mayors, including me, over 50 years have had no success developing Founders
Plaza."
The developers behind the project spent much of 2023 and
2024 designing the project and acquiring
the parcels that make up Port Eastside. In 2025, the
state passed a bill establishing the
Port Eastside Infrastructure Improvement District to help finance the
project. Once an "interlocal agreement" between the district and the
town is completed, the district will be able to issue up to $125 million in
bonds for infrastructure through tax incremental financing, allowing it to pay
for debt service with a portion of the municipal taxes that would typically be
collected on the property by the town.
A potential conflict arose between Port Eastside and state
Department of Transportation officials in February, when the DOT asked
lawmakers to repeal part of the Port Eastside Infrastructure Improvement
District bill that exempted the project from several traffic laws, but Simons
said at the time that the developer was receptive to the DOT's proposal and the
amendment would "allow us to collaborate even more closely with them on
this transformative project."
Niantic mixed-use development breaks ground
Jack Lakowsky
East Lyme — A mixed-use, market-rate housing and business
development broke ground Wednesday in Niantic, with the developer saying the
three-story building will be finished within 12 months.
David Preka, CEO of Advanced Construction and ZDM Properties,
said the new Main Street building, which will have 18 total apartments on upper
floors and first-floor commercial space, has already garnered interest from
businesses and prospective renters.
"Where else are you going to find an environment that's
walking distance to the most beautiful place: down by the water," Preka
said just before the groundbreaking ceremony at 338, 344 and 348 Main St.,
attended by local and state officials. The building is a quick stroll from
Hole-in-the-Wall Beach.
Preka said he aims to offer tenants the amenities of an
apartment building in New York City, like an indoor gym, but at much more
affordable prices. It will formally be known as "The Anchor
Building."
The units will be market rate. Commissioner for the
Connecticut Department of Housing Seila Mosquera-Bruno said as the state tries
to diversify its housing and create more living opportunities, market-rate
apartments still have an important role in that effort.
"We need all types of housing," she said. "We
need to make sure that we meet the needs of our residents."
After Preka first pitched the project to the town in 2023,
supporters said it would open Niantic up to housing more workers from Electric
Boat as it expands its workforce, while opponents worried about increases in
traffic. They also opposed the demolition of the three buildings that used to
occupy the property, including the former location of Cafe Sol, which now
operates down the road near Niantic Center School.
One of the buildings, a 130-year-old house, had fallen into
disrepair. The buildings were demolished
last fall.
"I think it will be a terrific addition to East Lyme
and Niantic," First Selectman Dan Cunningham said in his remarks.
Land records show Preka bought the 344-348 Main St.
property, which includes the house next door, in 2022 for $775,000. The company
purchased the neighboring office building at 338 Main St. in the same year for
$770,000.
Preka has become a major business presence in the region
over the last few years. Last year, he purchased
the Morton House east of the new building for $3.7 million. Preka said at the
time said he has no plans to demolish the 160-year-old building.
He also bought Muddy Waters at 42 Bank St., New London, in
2020 and the former Liberty Bank in the city in 2022, turning it into office
space and several apartments.
Developer returns with larger 669-unit housing proposal for former insurance campus in Simsbury
Greg Bordonaro
A developer is advancing plans for a large housing project on the former Hartford Insurance campus in Simsbury, proposing a 669-unit residential development on land where a smaller apartment project was previously rejected by the town.
The Silverman Group recently submitted a wetlands permit application tied to the redevelopment of the 12-acre Hartford South property at 200 Hopmeadow St.
Town Planning and Community Development Director George McGregor said the application was filed with Simsbury’s Inland Wetlands Agency because the proposal includes construction within the site’s upland review area.
He said the developer has indicated it intends to submit a separate application to the town’s Zoning Commission under Connecticut’s affordable-housing statute, known as 8-30g, for a 669-unit mixed residential project.
Under state law, the wetlands review must be completed before the zoning application can move forward.
Plans submitted with the wetlands filing show a mix of housing types, including apartment buildings, duplex units and single-family homes.
The proposal follows a lengthy dispute over redevelopment of the site.
Simsbury’s Zoning Commission in 2024 rejected a prior proposal from The Silverman Group to build 432 housing units on the property. The developer had initially proposed about 580 units before scaling the plan back during the approval process.
Silverman Group later sued the town, arguing the commission acted improperly in denying the application. A Superior Court judge earlier this year dismissed that lawsuit, court records show.
The property was once part of The Hartford Financial Services Group’s large suburban office campus. The insurer announced in 2013 that it would close the Simsbury site and relocate roughly 1,500 employees to its Hartford and Windsor offices as part of a real estate consolidation strategy.
Silverman Group purchased the campus in 2016 for $8.5 million and later demolished roughly 640,000 square feet of office space on the property.
Part of the former campus — known as Hartford North — has already been redeveloped. McGregor said that 36-acre section now includes 299 multifamily units, about 18,000 square feet of commercial space and a 120-unit assisted living facility.
The state’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on
Wednesday issued a reconsidered final decision in Yankee Gas’s rate case,
approving an annual revenue requirement of $806.7 million — a $86.7 million
increase over the Eversource
Energy subsidiary’s currently authorized revenues.
The decision, which rescinds and replaces an initial final
decision issued Nov. 5, is slightly more favorable to the company. The total
revenue requirement is roughly $4.4 million higher than the $802.2 million
approved in the original order, driven primarily by the elimination of
return-on-equity penalties, adjustments to depreciation and gross earnings tax
expenses.
The reconsidered decision was approved by Commissioners
David Arconti Jr., Janice A. Beecher and Holly H. Cheeseman.
Yankee Gas, which provides service to more than 252,300
customers in 85 Connecticut municipalities, had requested a $192.9 million
increase — a 26.8% jump that would have been the largest sought by a
Connecticut gas company in two decades. PURA cut that request by more than
half.
The company also filed a last-minute alternative resolution
proposal on Oct. 23 offering to settle for a $104.3 million increase, but the
approved amount came in below that figure as well.
The most significant change between the two decisions
involves the allowed return on equity. Both decisions set a base ROE of 9.48%,
up from the previously authorized 9.3%. But the original decision imposed a
cumulative 16-basis-point reduction — bringing the effective ROE to 9.32% — to
address what it called deficient management in four areas: imprudent record
management and procurement practices, capitalizing employee incentive
compensation in noncompliance with a prior rate case order, underutilized plant
and inadequate documentation of cost-of-removal.
The reconsidered decision eliminates all four penalties,
keeping the ROE at the full 9.48%.
PURA did, however, add a new section warning that ROE
adjustments could come in future proceedings if Yankee fails to develop
operating-company-specific environmental, social and governance goals and
metrics, rather than relying on enterprise-wide Eversource initiatives.
Yankee’s last fully adjudicated rate case was in 2011. Its
2017 rate application was resolved through a settlement agreement.
PURA opened the reconsideration proceeding on Dec. 15, after
several new commissioners took office.