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12/16/2019 11:00 PMThe new year will bring fresh beginnings to one of Clinton’s most high-profile developments. An application has been received by the town’s Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) to begin work on the old Morgan School.
An application for the demolition of the existing school and construction of new structures was received by the IWC at its monthly meeting on Dec. 3. A site walk is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. Should there be inclement weather it will be held on Saturday, Jan. 11.
At the site walk, the commission members will visit and observe the property and note any potential areas of concern. According to the application, there will be no permanent or temporary disturbance or filling of the wetlands or watercourses. At the commission’s next regular meeting after the site walk, it will decide on whether or not to hold a public hearing on the application.
According to the town of Clinton’s Land Use Technician Sherry Hynes, if the IWC decides the application contains significant activity in the wetlands, a public hearing is required. Alternatively, if the commission determines that there isn’t significant activity in the wetlands, a public hearing isn’t required. However, Hynes said that it’s possible the IWC could decide that the public is so invested in the project that a public hearing should be held anyway regardless if the members rule the application doesn’t qualify as significant wetlands activity.
According to its purview, the IWC can only decide on an application’s merits in terms of any potential impact to the wetlands. For example, traffic impacts or noise levels of a potential development can’t be considered by the IWC. Should the IWC approve the project, the proposal would then need to clear the Planning & Zoning Commission approval process; that commission can take those matters into account.
The application and drawings filed in the town’s land use office note that the plan calls for nine buildings to be built on the 37-acre property. The plans call for four restaurants spaces, five retail spaces, a 55,150 square foot grocer, and a 14,021 square foot hotel with 100 rooms. The application estimates a start date of May 2020 and a completion date of October 2022.
Originally, the property at the old high school was to be developed and open for business by this time, but things didn’t go according to plan. In 2015, Clinton residents approved the sale of the old high school to Mill Pond, LLC, for $2.8 million. Mill Pond, LLC, had planned to turn the property into a mixed-use development similar to the current proposal. 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.
In the aftermath of that project’s termination, the town was faced with spending additional money on maintenance and security on the property. The town’s board of selectmen (BOS) spent much of 2018 soliciting and vetting new proposals for the site. After narrowing the search down to four finalists that the BOS felt had the financial backing to complete the project, the board made its decision.
In late 2018, residents approved the $2.2 million sale of the old high school to Greylock Property Group. The plan is for the property to be developed into Indian River Landing, a mixed-used development consisting of retail, restaurants, and a hotel. Since that time, the developer has conducted test work on the site as it prepared for the application process. That preparation included a successful petition to subdivide within the property’s zone to allow for smaller wastewater systems and an agreement with the town to split the remediation costs of discovered asbestos on the site.