New London — The developer who has proposed to build an apartment building with a grocery store on the ground level at the corner of Bank and Howard streets told the City Council Monday night he hopes to break ground this fall, though the development plan no longer includes the Fiddleheads Natural Food Co-op or an affordable housing component.
Kyle Klewin, a partner at Groton-based Klewin Development, presented an updated plan for the so-called Parcel J as part of his request for a six-month extension of the prime developer status he has held at the property since 2013. The council voted unanimously to authorize the mayor to extend the agreement.
Klewin’s project was originally expected to include a roughly 18,000-square-foot space for Fiddleheads, but a few months ago, Fiddleheads backed out of the letter of intent both parties signed last year, Klewin said.
“We had a letter of intent with Fiddleheads to take the ground floor and the first floor was designed for a grocery usage with them in mind, so we went a long way with them,” he said. “In the end, they had a management change and decided they didn’t want to move from where they currently are.”
Managers of Fiddleheads could not be reached to comment Monday night.
The new plan calls for about 7,000 square feet on the first floor to be devoted to a retailer, perhaps another grocery store, though no tenant has yet been identified.
“That could be open-minded to a retail market, a hardware store, or something that would support the local community,” said Lee Blackwell, a project executive at Klewin Development. “We do not have a tenant identified for that at this point in time, but we are of the opinion that if we build it they will come.”
The housing portion of the development was originally to include 31 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments, with 80 percent of the units to be market rate and 20 percent to be affordable housing. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Old Lyme Sound View project likely to proceed in phases
Old Lyme — A project to improve the Sound View beach area with a redesigned streetscape, town green and restrooms will likely be done in phases, town officials said Monday.
The town will hold a public information meeting on the Sound View Improvement project at 7 p.m. June 30 at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School.
A town committee came to a consensus last week that the town should improve Hartford Avenue as the first phase of the project, the selectmen said at their meeting on Monday. The streetscape would include widened sidewalks, bike lanes and redesigned street parking.
The improvements for the proposed town green and bathrooms would then be phased in as funding and grant opportunities become available, the selectmen said.
The discussion comes after the Sound View Improvement Committee received higher-than-anticipated construction cost estimates for the project.In 2013, the state Department of Transportation notified the town that it was awarded a grant to cover 80 percent of the project to improve Sound View.
Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal reported Monday that the committee has received construction cost estimates of more than $1.4 million for the entire project, while the initial grant estimate was about $665,000. Restrooms alone would cost just under $300,000, she said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Voters to decide fate of Colchester school renovations
Colchester will determine how the town will fix the aging William J. Johnston Middle School, where the band room houses a washing machine and dryer. The washer and dryer are in the music room because the room previously was a home economics classroom. The machines are still used for cloth rags from the cafeteria across the hall, according to Principal Chris Bennett.
It's one of many problems town and school officials hope to solve at the school with a combination of demolition, renovations and new construction.
"The building no longer fits our educational model here in town," Building Committee Chairman Thomas Tyler said.
A vote to approve the $48.9 million ballot question would start a renovation and expansion project that advocates say is sorely needed.
Voting the project down would likely mean the town would tackle smaller repairs and renovations over a period of about 10 years.
The committee has worked for 20 months, since voters roundly defeated a plan that would have seen not only a renovated middle school, but a new senior facility and community center sharing the same campus. That plan was projected at $57 million, with the town footing $38.9 million of the cost. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Centerplan asks $15Min DoNo aid
The promoter of Hartford's Downtown North mixed-use development is petitioning the state for $15 million toward financing its first phase of housing for that corner of the center city.
Middletown's Centerplan Development LLC on June 5 formally submitted its DoNo funding petition to the housing committee of the Capital Region Development Authority. CRDA has the ability to use loans and/or grants to finance worthy projects.
According to Centerplan development executive Yves-Georges Joseph II, the requested sum is $5 million less than originally envisioned because the DoNo development will now occur in phases, rather than all at once.
Now planned, Joseph said, is to erect the first 172 one- and two-bedroom apartment units in DoNo. Another 156 units would come later, he said. A portion of the total units would be earmarked as "affordable.''
In all, the development tab for the first phase rings in at around $60 million vs. the original $105 million to erect housing, plus space for office and retail, including a supermarket, and parking.
Joseph said discussions are just underway between Centerplan and the housing committee on a public-financing framework. There is no timetable for concluding those talks, although Centerplan is contractually obligated to start DoNo construction by Nov. 1, he said.
Meantime, Joseph said Centerplan is working with senior-debt providers and other financiers to secure its private-equity slice of the funding pie.
— Gregory Seay
Middletown developer gets approval on 43-unit condominium project
MIDDLETOWN — A local developer plans to start construction in the summer of 2016 on a new 43-unit condominium project on River Road beside the Connecticut River.
The planning and zoning commission approved plans June 10 from Old Turkey Hill LLC, allowing the redevelopment of the former Jackson Corrugated property at the corner of River Road and Eastern Drive.
Developer Martin Smith said the project includes seven three-story buildings with six units each and a parking structure for each building. A three-bedroom, single-family home on Eastern Drive will also be part of the project.
"The main attraction is the Connecticut River and our goal was to provide every unit with a river view," Smith said.
Each unit will have two bedrooms, a large living room and a deck that faces the river.
Smith said his project very closely relies on the eventual decommissioning and demolition of the city's sewage treatment plant on River Road. He is trying to time the project so that the new units will be available for purchase around the time the plant is being shut down and prepared for demolition. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE