BRISTOL — For all the talk during the past decade, the revitalization of the city’s downtown has so far consisted mostly of clearing the former mall site and installing some streetscape features.
Downtown is dotted with empty lots and empty buildings, including the former Chic Miller automobile dealership on West Street, the old armory on Center Street, the shuttered Bristol Press building on Main Street and more. The old Mamatseos Building on North Main Street is now a vacant lot. But officials hope that after years of stagnation, the long-awaited revitalization may be at least in its infancy. Construction of a new Bristol Boys and Girls Club is underway on West Street. In addition, the first phase of the proposed Depot Square project on the former mall site is slated to begin by next summer with two four-story buildings along Main Street containing housing and retail.
Renaissance officials said they are putting together a financing package for the project and expect to submit it to the Bristol Downtown Development Corp. within a couple of months, leaving time for the city to review it before the May 26 deadline for the purchase to go through.
Mayor Ken Cockayne said he is “extremely optimistic” downtown redevelopment will get underway on a schedule as outlined in the agreement with Renaissance Downtowns. “The redevelopment of the former mall property known as Depot Square has been a long time in the making, and it is a key component to our economic development efforts,” the mayor said. The development at the mall site may not be the only work done downtown. Ryan Porter, project manager for the Long Island-based Renaissance Downtowns that is spearheading the Depot Square plan, said a possible project may emerge that would use the Chic Miller site “in the near future.” Porter said that Renaissance also is working with the broker trying to sell the old Bristol Press building. One possible use for it, he said, is for a dinner theater. A national company is eyeing it, he said, but the idea is still “very preliminary.”
Mayor Stewart prepares for arrival of CTfastrak
NEW BRITAIN — Though it’s 14 months away, Mayor Erin Stewart says she has already circled her calendar. On Feb. 2015 the first CTfastrak buses will roll. “Overall, it’s impressive to see the amount of progress that’s been made,” she said. The city’s new mayor toured the future CTfastrak line Wednesday, taking special interest in the system’s three stations now under construction in New Britain. Connecticut’s first bus rapid transit system has 11 transit stations, a recreational trail and a newly-integrated commuter service for riders in central Connecticut.
CTfastrak’s media spokesman Ron Dresner arranged the tour for the mayor, along with administration and transportation officials. At various stops they discussed transit-oriented development opportunities currently underway in and around the stations.
Stewart was accompanied by her chief of staff, John Healey, Gerry Amodio, the city’s downtown district director, Robert Smedley, New Britain alderman, Michael Sanders, ConnDOT project manager, Tom Strand, Michael Baker Engineering and Brian Cunningham, ConnDOT official.
Stewart was accompanied by her chief of staff, John Healey, Gerry Amodio, the city’s downtown district director, Robert Smedley, New Britain alderman, Michael Sanders, ConnDOT project manager, Tom Strand, Michael Baker Engineering and Brian Cunningham, ConnDOT official.
MERIDEN — Formerly known as the Meriden Mall and then the Meriden Hub, a 14.4-acre piece of land downtown will be getting a new name. The now-vacant property has been called the Hub since 1981, but with a redevelopment plan in place that will turn the site into a city park, officials want to give it a new identity as well. “The name tells people outside of Meriden what it is,” explained City Council Deputy Majority Leader Brian Daniels. “This is a real amenity and we want people to know about it.” The City Council passed a resolution last week to come up with a process for naming the future park. City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior said in the coming weeks a process will be firmed up, and it will likely allow people from around the city to suggest and submit names. The names would then be shortlisted and eventually a recommendation could be made.
“We want to make sure people are aware of all of the elements and different amenities involved with the park,” Kendzior said. With flooding a historic problem in downtown, the site will be used as a place to retain floodwater in the even of a significant storm. Harbor Brook will be uncovered at the site making it the only watercourse to flow openly through a city park in the state, according to officials. The site will also include a great lawn area for various exhibitions and events, an amphitheater, walking trails that will link up with the linear trail, and an “iconic” illuminated pedestrian bridge that will connect State and Pratt streets.
The entire funding package is meant to help the facility be both functional and competitive over the next 10 years. This includes replacing the electrical, mechanical, and plumbing infrastructure, and making upgrades to the concessions, rest rooms, locker rooms, seating, security, technology, signage, and lighting. Construction is scheduled to begin in March with a completion deadline of October.
Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum took over XL Center management from AEG at the end of August at the request of Malloy's Capital Region Development Authority.
Hartford laying plans to bridge the I-84 canyon
The ill-starred decision more than a half-century ago to run I-84 through downtown Hartford did wonders for moving cars — but at considerable cost to the physical integrity of the central city.
The highway cut the North End off from downtown, hastening its decline. It orphaned some buildings that were eventually torn down, creating a no-man's land of surface parking in areas where people once worked and lived. In combination with the second whammy, I-91 cutting the city off from the Connecticut River, it made the downtown smaller, limiting development options.
For decades, city officials have dreamed of restitching the urban fabric north of the highway as part of an expanded downtown with stronger peripheral neighborhoods. The dream took a great leap toward the possible in January with the opening of the new $77 million public safety complex on High Street, on the site of a late 19th-century school. At about the same time, the city hired a team to do a master plan for the broad swath of land — 283 acres — to the north and west of downtown.
The findings have been presented at two public meetings thus far, with a third scheduled for Wednesday 11 at 6 p.m. at the Hartford Public Library. After that, the city plans to engage a broker and market the areas to developers.
Middletown sets public hearing on West Street Bridge project
MIDDLETOWN — The state Department of Transportation will hold an informational meeting on Monday, Dec. 16, on the planned replacement of the one-lane wooden bridge on West Street.
The bridge is 17 feet wide and was built in 1932 to carry West Street over the railroad tracks. The planned work would widen the bridge to two lanes of traffic, each 14 feet wide, and include a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the East side of the bridge.
Public Works Director William Russo said the meeting will allow residents to ask questions about the project or share concerns with the DOT. "Some of the concerns are going to be where the bridge and sidewalks are going to be in relation to the properties [near the bridge]," Russo said. "A lot of questions are going to be answered." Work on the project is not expected to begin until spring 2016, and would be completed in the summer of 2017. During construction, West Street would be closed and traffic would be rerouted, the DOT said. The bridge's narrowness makes it obsolete, and it's deteriorating, the DOT said. Construction would include about 600 feet of roadway.
Russo said access by fire trucks and school buses have been long-standing issues for the city. The city owns the roads on both sides of the bridge He said residents may also have questions about truck traffic and speeds on West Street once the road is widened, when it would be a way for commuters to get between the busy Routes 66 and 157. The project is estimated to cost about $3 million, said Judd Everhart, a DOT spokesman.The plans for the project will be available for viewing in the public works department at city hall. DOT representatives have already met with Mayor Daniel Drew, the public works department and property owners in the area of the West Street Bridge.