Several new businesses moving to town
Four sites in Montville - mostly located along Route 32- are under development. If all goes well, the town will soon have a Dollar General, another McDonald's, an affordable housing complex and a technology museum. "We're pleased to see some new projects going on in town," said Mayor Ronald McDaniel, who added that he hopes the town can continue to develop property along Route 32 and diversify Montville's tax base.The Dollar General store will be located at 855 Norwich-New London Turnpike, turning a long vacant lot into taxable property for the town. It will also bring about a dozen jobs to Montville, said developer William Pieniadz."This isn't a junk store," said Pieniadz, who said the company sells primarily name-brand items. "They're one of the largest retailers of quality brands such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark, General Mills, Nabisco."Pieniadz said the company, which makes more than $14.8 billion annually, is the nation's "largest small-box discount retailer" and is based out of Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The dollar store will provide "quick in, quick out" shopping for day-to-day dry goods and basic groceries, he said. The store is what Montville building official Vernon Vesey called a "cookie-cutter" project: a small rectangular box that should be quick to construct. The steel building package was delivered to the site recently, said Pieniadz, and the foundation is already in place. Last Friday they poured the concrete for the building's slab.
He expects the building to be erected within about six weeks and said he will turn the property over to Dollar General on Dec. 31 or earlier. The company will then bring in shelving and personal equipment and should open soon afterward.
Panel moves New Haven Coliseum plans to alderman
NEW HAVEN >> Residents, business owners, city employees and a local developer all applauded the proposed design for the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum site, and the development firm behind it. A joint community development and Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night attracted dozens of stakeholders who, despite waiting for a late start, were eager to sing the praises of the design and its potential impact on the city’s growth. After much testimony, the joint committee unanimously voted to move the proposal, with language flexibility, with recommendation to the full Board of Aldermen.Wednesday night’s meeting was the first of two aldermanic meetings at which residents are urged to testify as plans for the former Coliseum site roll into the final stages. The second is a Legislation Committee meeting at which members will consider a zoning map amendment that will allow for more flexibility in development and a more pedestrian-friendly environment. The city has worked with development firm LiveWorkLearnPlay for about three years to design the mixed-use vision for the site. The Canadian firm has invested $2 million into the plan and is prepared to start construction in summer 2014, pending Board of Aldermen approval. If approved, the plan will go forward in two phases, with the expected completion time between seven and ten years, said Max Reim, founding principal of the company.
Affordable housing tabled
TORRINGTON — The Planning & Zoning Commission on Wednesday tabled an application to build two five-story affordable housing buildings off East Main Street after questions from the public and the board lingered after a hearing.The Torrington Housing Authority, which owns the 100-unit Michael J. Koury Terrace on Tucker Drive, has proposed expanding that housing campus by 115 units. The two new buildings would be called Slaiby Village after Samuel Slaiby, a longtime member of the housing authority board.Claudia Sweeney, director of the housing authority for 12 years, said expanding housing for people aged 62 and older on the property has been discussed her entire tenure with the organization.One building would hold 47 units of affordable one-bedroom apartments strictly for veterans age 62 and older. The second building would contain 68 units of affordable housing for residents 62 or older on the 17-acre property.When complete there will be 215 senior housing units on the property and 133 parking spaces. A parking engineer said a parking study found that only 50 percent of the parking is used now."There are over 14,000 veterans in Litchfield County, over 2,800 in Torrington alone," Sweeney said. "Age 55 and older is the fastest growing segment of our population."Architect Paul B. Bailey of New Haven designed the buildings.
He said the chevron shaped buildings would have parking on the upper sides and back units would have a view of woods. Both buildings would have a lobby in the center with an office and meeting rooms and each building will have a common area. In one building the common room is planned for the first floor rear and in the other the public space would be on the top floor.Each floor will have trash and laundry facilities, the buildings will have central air conditioning and natural gas back up generators will be mounted on their roofs.