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11/28/2018 11:00 PM"Bring it on": That was the overwhelming sentiment expressed by the citizens of Clinton at a public hearing over the proposed Indian River Landing project held on Nov. 28. The project would bring a mixed-use development to the former Morgan School site - and $2.2 million to the town.
Economic Development Commission (EDC) Chair John Allen said the EDC is in favor of the proposal, and that the EDC believes the project will encourage more visitors to come to the town.
Speaking for himself, Allen said "We've been waiting a long time for this. This is a damn good proposal. This is all the kind of development we want here."
Other speakers had specific suggestions for the project. Resident Jane Scully Welch asked that the developer consider including bricks from the old Morgan School in the development. Laura Colebank drew applause and amusement from the crowd when she asked that the developer consider adding a Trader Joe's Grocery Store to the development.
First Selectman Christine Goupil said that there are still several approval processes that must be met, even if the town votes to approve the proposal, and that no tenants haven been chosen yet.
No members of the public spoke explicitly against the proposal, but some raised potential issues they saw with the proposal. Kirk Carr, an EDC member, noted that he abstained from the vote to endorse the proposal because he wanted more information on the proposal at the time. Carr said he did like the proposal, but wished more information from proposals from other developers could have been provided to the public. Several members of the public asked that the town and developers take increased traffic in the area into account.
The public hearing and town meeting are part of the project's approval process. Required approvals from both the Board of Finance and Planning & Zoning Commission were both granted at meetings held on Nov. 19.
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) announced the Indian River Landing Project at a Nov. 7 board meeting. The BOS voted to sell the property to the proposed developer Greylock Property Group, for $2.2 million. If the proposal is successful, the land will be turned into Indian River Landing, a mixed-use development consisting of retail, restaurants, a large-scale grocery or retail store, and townhomes. The project is estimated to take about five years to complete.
Ken Navarro, a member of Greylock Property Group, addressed the crowd at the public hearing. Navarro said that he has family in the shoreline area and doesn't live far himself. Navarro said he has worked in locations such as Mystic, Connecticut, Martha's Vineyard, and Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
"We have a lot of local flavor and want to do something Clinton can be proud of. We understand shoreline communities," Navarro said.
Navarro also said that he understands the history of the project, and that he doesn't anticipate any financial issues with the development.
"I want to set everyone's mind at ease," Navarro said.
In February 2015, close to 400 people came to a town meeting to cast a vote on the sale of the property to Mill Pond, LLC, for $2.8 million. The town approved the sale by a vote of 247 to 163. Mill Pond, LLC, had also planned to turn the property into a mixed-use development. The project was supposed to break ground in late 2016; instead developer Henry Resnikoff terminated the agreement with the town in August 2017 citing issues with financing and a permit application from the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.
Earlier in 2018 Goupil told the
Harbor News that the BOS the considered four different developers for the site, and in particular sought proposals that met the zoning regulations for the property, and ones the selectmen felt had solid financial backing.