WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
The City of Middletown is exploring long-range
plans to develop 85 acres of prime waterfront property on the banks of the
historic Connecticut River. For more information, please follow the links below
and/or contact the Department of Planning, Conservation, and Development.
Arthur Cotton Moore Conceptual
Designs
Riverfront Municipal Development Plan
What do YOU think??
Email us with your opinion on this important part of
Middletown's river, and its future. Your opinion is valuable for gauging public
support for pursuing this initiative.
Narrative
The presence of Route 9, between Middletown
and the historic Connecticut River, has long been a source of consternation for
area planners and residents who rue the day they lost access to it.
As plans evolved to decommission the obsolete riverfront
sewage treatment plan and reconfigure the Route 9 / Route 17 interchange in the
South Cove area, city leaders began to look at this section of the waterfront
and its larger land mass as a long-range development opportunity to reconnect
the city with its waterfront amenities.
In 1998, Mayor Domenique S. Thornton convened "The Mayor's
Select Committee on Waterfront Development," to involve the broadest possible
cross-section of residents, property-owners, planners, business people, and
other stakeholders to explore options in the area, and identify community
priorities and objectives for its future development. Coordinated by planning
director, William Warner, AICP, the meetings were facilitated by two
consultants: John Mullin and Associates and Planimetrics. A series of workshops
established Goals, Priorities, and Strategies for the future development of the
area, along with a Conceptual Land Use map.
Meanwhile, a PILOT grant from the EPA provided the city
with preliminary resources to investigate the environmental effects of 100 years
of industrial location in the area. Environmental consultants TRC performed a
number of studies, Phase I and Phase II assessments, and reports, the sum of
which significantly reduced much of the uncertainty that comes with "brownfield"
redevelopment.
The City of Middletown is now (December, 2002)
in the process of preparing grant applications to the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) for $200,000 in brownfields assessment funds for the Main Street
Extension, East Main Street area and for the Portland Chemical property on
Newfield Street. The department is also applying for $1 million in funds to
capitalize a brownfields clean up revolving loan fund.
Interested parties may appear and discuss the proposal and review
draft information. Application guidelines and supporting documentation are on
file in the Department of Planning, Conservation and Development.
In recent months, developers have begun to take notice of
this area, prompting the city to take steps to articulate more clearly its own
vision for how the development should ultimately take shape. Early last year
(2002), the city retained renowned waterfront and preservation architect, Arthur
Cotton Moore to develop conceptual designs for the waterfront which were
unveiled at the end of May.
With these many components in hand, the city developed a
Request for Developer Qualifications (RFQ). Please stay-tuned, and let us know
what YOU think of possible future directions for this part of Middletown's
waterfront.
Supporting Information
Citizen Participation
Environmental
ConnDOT Route 9 / Route 17 Interchange
Study
