Private developer preferred for East Hartford sports facility
Joseph Villanova
EAST HARTFORD — The Town Council and town administration
differ on whether a proposed youth sports facility should be town-owned or
privately developed.
Back in May, Mayor Mike Walsh and MV Properties Principal
Vincent DiCarlo pitched the project to the Town Council as a $10 million sports
complex at McAuliffe Park on Remington Street. The proposal is a result of
a non-binding public-private partnership with MV Properties, selected
earlier this year through a town bidding process.
Under the initial proposal, the town would use $3 million of
the $4 million in "impact funds" paid by the
developer of warehouses at Rentschler Field allocated
specifically for a sports facility, with the remaining $7 million to
be approved by voters at a referendum.
The May presentation outlined a 60,000-square-foot field
house with multi-purpose courts, artificial turf, and other athletic facilities
open daily throughout the entire year. Walsh has said the construction timeline
could stretch into 2025.
The project originally included an inflatable "sports
bubble," which is being used at MV Properties' 95,000-square-foot Day Hill Dome under
construction in Windsor.
A June memo from Connor Martin, Walsh's chief of staff,
states that the "bubble" proved difficult to be bank financed and
commercially insured, and plans have gravitated toward a more rigid structure.
Walsh said his philosophy is that the facility should be
funded and owned by the town but developed with the help of a third party and
operated under a long-term lease.
Council Chairman Richard Kehoe said the group of elected
officials doesn't envision the project as a town government function.
"The town has neither the expertise of running such a
facility, nor should the taxpayers be on the hook for operation of such a
facility, which would be in competition with privately owned facilities in
other towns," Kehoe said.
Walsh has said that the facility would pay for the $7
million in bonds through rental fees, and that the cost to the average
household would be $25 per year over the course of 20 years in the event that
the facility made no revenue.
Town Council members have discussed a strong desire to make
a youth sports facility accessible to residents, motivated by a lack of
facilities in the area.
Kehoe said he would be interested in providing some
financial incentives for a private developer to construct a sports facility,
particularly in exchange for preferential treatment for residents.
"It's one of those situations that, without financial
incentives, would a privately run facility want to give those preferences?"
Kehoe said.
Kehoe said Town Council members also had concerns about
McAuliffe Park as a site for the facility, considering its distance from the
highway and the fact that the only way to it is through a residential
street.
"We think there's a fair amount of alternatives that
would be acceptable to the town's residents and much more attractive for
someone to run a facility," Kehoe said.
Kehoe said a number of sites in the Silver Lane corridor
could be explored, including vacant space across from the hotel reconstruction
project on Roberts Street, another empty spot near the Hillside Street
apartments, and the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Club, where the town had
previously sought to develop the facility.
Silver Lane Plaza is also expected to hit the market
after the town demolishes the three
retail buildings located on the site, which could wrap up by the end of the
year.
Last week, Town Council members unanimously approved to
allocate $150,000 of the impact funds for studies on the financial feasibility
of a youth sports facility in East Hartford and on the town and school board's
programs for sports and physical activities.
Walsh said the town provides dozens of programs, but the
study could identify demands that aren't being met.
"We're looking at all of our offerings to make sure
they match what the community is interested in," Walsh said.
Walsh said the town will issue requests for proposals for
both the studies, which he expects would be completed in three to four months.
Connecticut Children's to add new parking garage, skybridge despite criticism
Hartford’s planning commission on Tuesday approved a new
garage with an elevated walkway to span Washington Street as part of expansion
plans for Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
LAZ Parking partner Larry Stubbs applied for zoning changes
and special permits for the building of the new garage, to be leased fully to
the children’s hospital.
The planned eight-story parking structure is key to Connecticut
Children’s ongoing expansion, which includes a $326 million clinical tower
now under construction. Engineers Fuss & O'Neill have designed an elevated
walkway or skywalk would to connect the new tower with the garage’s second
floor.
The larger facility is expected to eventually create
hundreds of jobs and is part of an ambitious growth strategy across
Connecticut. The new facility in Hartford will feature a fetal care center and
a unit for bone marrow transplants.
“Parking that is both close and provides a protective
passageway for our patients and their families is a must have for this tower
project,” Karri May, senior director of facilities at Connecticut Children's,
told the commission. The hospital currently leases parking at multiple lots in
the area that require shuttle service, and also shares a cramped
and often-full garage on Zweiback Street with Hartford Hospital.
The new garage, to be built at a site at 289 Washington now
occupied by a surface parking lot and restaurant patio, is designed to house
920 parking spaces, along with both ground-floor and second-floor retail space.
Materials for the new construction were chosen to give the garage a modern,
airy look and blend in with the hospital's planned clinical tower, according to
project documents.
Four buildings adjacent to the site will be relocated to
make way for construction, and three other structures at 285 and 289 Washington
and 5 Lincoln streets are set to be demolished.
May said that Connecticut Children’s had already been
approached by two prospective tenants for the retail spaces in the garage, with
planners hoping for uses connected to the hospital.
Although the hospital had mustered support for its plans
from a range of Frog Hollow neighborhood groups and community leaders,
the garage and skywalk drew some criticism for the project's size and scope.
“My main reason for opposing the project is it’s too tall,”
said Planning & Zoning Commissioner David McKinley, citing zoning
regulations that limit the height of most structures. He also cited earlier
projects in the Frog Hollow area that replaced historic apartment buildings
with garages he called “eyesores.”
Garages aren’t covered by height limits under zoning rules
except in downtown sections of Hartford, city staff said.
McKinley also said he objected to the skywalk: “The hospital
can’t claim to want to partner with the neighborhood but then say they need a
skywalk so that their employees and visitors don't have to step foot in the
neighborhood.”
The planning commission approved measures related to the
garage and skywalk proposal by a 3-1 vote.
Carey Shea, co-chair of the Frog Hollow Neighborhood
Revitalization Zone, said the hospital had worked with the nearby residents to
ensure that concerns about the scope and impact of the project were
addressed.
“I think they made an effort to try and really hear what the
community wanted,” Shea said “I have to say as far as working with a big
institution in CCMC, I felt they really put in time and effort with the
community to come up with something.”
CT officials cut deal for XL Center renovations that includes private funding
HARTFORD — The XL Center could get $20 million in private
funding to put toward a renovation that would cost more than $100 million,
according to the state budget passed by the Senate and the House before
the end of the legislative session.
The budget would allow for Oak View Group — the contractor
that runs day-to-day operations in the arena — to invest $20 million toward the
renovations. The state could invest up to $80 million, according to the budget
document, for the much-needed repairs to the arena that hosts a variety of
events in downtown Hartford.
According to the budget agreement, OVG would be responsible
for any monetary losses but would earn any profit up to $4 million. OVG and the
Capital Regional Development Authority, which operates the arena, would split
any money over $4 million.
Officials are also hoping to move forward with a retail
sports betting venue at the XL Center that could open this fall.
The arena hosts the Hartford Wolf Pack, an AHL hockey team,
as well as UConn men's and women's basketball. It was previously the home to
the Hartford Whalers before they left for North Carolina in 1997, and officials
have been pushing for a major renovation for decades.
The push to get funding for the renovations comes as
Hartford officials and Gov. Ned Lamont have
been courting the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL hockey team that has struggled
to find a permanent home in Arizona. Lamont has said he's spoken with NHL
commissioner Gary Bettman about relocating the team to Hartford and also said
he has an ownership team in place that would be interested in buying the team
and moving it to Hartford.
But that's led to questions about the XL Center's ability to
host an NHL team. Lamont said Monday that it would probably take
"quintuple" the $100 million already planned to get the XL Center
ready for an NHL team, even as lawmakers have struggled for years to get the
$100 million or so needed for immediate renovations for the arena's current
tenants.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said Monday that he hoped the
renovations could happen soon.
"Regardless of what happens with this effort to secure
an NHL team, it's important that the XL Center is an arena that is modern,
competitive, worthy of the national champion Huskies who play there and able to
attract entertainment acts of all kinds," he said. "We are focused on
continuing to work in partnership with the Capital Region Development Authority
and with the state of Connecticut to get those improvements underway."
Expanded senior center project on its way to Old Lyme voters
Elizabeth Regan
Old Lyme ― Voters will be asked to approve the $5.3 million
renovation of the Lymes’ Senior Center in a paper ballot vote next week.
The senior center, built in 1996 with no major renovations
since, is shared by Old Lyme and Lyme. Under terms established back then, Old
Lyme is responsible for 75% of project costs and Lyme the remainder.
Old Lyme residents, as well as those who own more than
$1,000 in taxable property in town, will be asked to authorize officials to
spend up to $3.9 million on the renovation.
About two dozen people turned out Monday at the Lyme-Old
Lyme Middle School auditorium for Old Lyme’s special town meeting on whether or
not to fund the project. They voted to send the question to a paper ballot vote
June 20 at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School gymnasium from noon to 8 p.m.
Democratic Registrar of Voters Jen Datum on Tuesday said
unlike a machine referendum, where ballots go through the tabulator to be
counted, the ballots will be tallied by local election officials at the end of
the eight-hour vote.
Datum said voters would be asked to mark either the “yes” or
“no” line underneath a ballot question asking whether the town should authorize
a $5.3 million appropriation “and the acceptance of grants and taking of loans”
for the planning, design and construction of an expanded joint Old Lyme/Lyme
Senior Center.”
Lymes’ Senior Center Building Committee Chairwoman Jeri
Baker at the town meeting said she is hopeful the project will receive enough
federal and state grants to cover roughly three-fourths of the total cost.
The towns in their current budgets spent a combined total of
$281,000 to start the project.
She said she hopes the project can go to bid this summer so
construction can begin in September. The center will be closed while the
renovations take place and plans are being developed to offer senior services
during this time.
She estimated the project would be complete by Oct. 1, 2024,
if all goes according to plan.
First Selectman Tim Griswold on Tuesday said absentee
ballots will be available at the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office through Friday.
Town attorney Michael Carey clarified later that the absentee ballots may be
used despite statements to the contrary from officials at the town meeting.
Griswold, Datum, Baker and Town Clerk Vicki Urbowicz said
they did not know why Carey advised them to send the question to a paper ballot
vote instead of a machine referendum. They referred questions to Carey.
Carey could not be reached for comment by press time.
Project funding
Griswold at the town meeting said Old Lyme will handle the
financial aspects of the project. Lyme is responsible for reimbursing the town
for its share of the project. That’s why the ballot question includes the total
project amount instead of just Old Lyme’s portion.
“Inasmuch as the town is operating the checkbook, we have to
have the full authorization to write the checks for that amount,” he said.
Lyme voters approved the smaller town’s $1.3 million share
of the project last month. The money will come from the 2023-24 capital budget
which was approved at the Lyme Annual Budget Meeting.
Baker said the building committee has applied for a $2.8
million federal grant that is currently awaiting congressional approval. There
are plans to apply for up to $1 million in state grants through the Small Town
Economic Assistance Program.
The formal resolution for the vote specifies there will be
no debt issued as a result of the project. Instead, Griswold said the town
might choose to use the town’s undesignated fund balance ― otherwise known as
the Rainy Day Fund ― or a bank loan to pay for whatever isn’t covered by grants
or private fundraising.
The Old Lyme 2023-24 budget approved last month will put the
undesignated fund balance at about 25% of the town’s total operating budget.
The industry standard for a healthy undesignated fund balance is around 15% of
the total operating budget.
Board of Finance Chairman David Kelsey and Griswold have
said the town requires more of a cushion because the area is vulnerable to
storms and flooding that could potentially wipe out valuable sources of tax
revenue.
But after Monday’s town meeting, Griswold said he believes
residents would have an appetite for using some of the savings toward the
senior center expansion. He said securing a bank loan for the remainder, which
would come with fewer fees and a shorter repayment period than a municipal
bond, is also an option.
Designs for the renovated senior center produced by Old
Lyme-based Point One Architects show a 9,600-square-foot layout ― an increase
from 5,400 square feet ― that will build westward toward the High Hopes
Therapeutic Riding facility. It includes the reconfiguration of the entire
inner space plus added space and movable partitions so multiple programs can
happen at the same time. It includes an expanded, 814-square-foot kitchen.
The building serves as the home base for the town nurse and
the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter.