Anyone who has driven around South Windsor knows that there are plenty of shovels in the ground, so to speak, with no fewer than seven major construction projects in the works.
South Windsor Patch sat down with Town Planner Michele Lipe to provide a summary of where those projects are in terms of completion.
FedEx on Sullivan Avenue
The steel framing for Phase I of the 300,000-square-foot distribution center is being put up; the target date for the company to begin setting up the interior of the building is October, Lipe said. The center is designed for an army of the ubiquitous white FedEx trucks to pick up and deliver packages throughout the region. Phase I calls for about 221,000 square feet of the building to be completed, with an 87,000-square-foot addition to be built in Phase II.
Hartford Hospital on Sullivan Avenue
The two-story, 15,000-square-foot office building across the street from Town Hall is scheduled to be completed in October as well, according to Lipe. Nothing has been filed with the town as of yet to indicate if the building will be a medical center, an office building or a combination thereof.
CT Studios on Ellington Road and Fitch Boulevard
The project, which was proposed to great fanfare in 2010, calls for four movie studios, a mill for the construction of sets, a hotel and commercial space on 40 acres in the southern part of town. The project still has momentum, Lipe said. The studios, according to Lipe, are approved and are ready for construction, but the developer, CT Studios LLC, does not have the OK to construct the hotel. CT Studios LLC recently filed a phasing plan that calls for the construction of two studios and the hotel, which needs a detailed site plan before moving forward, Lipe said.
Still, despite the waiting game, Lipe said that the developer “is still actively pursuing the necessary approvals at the local level.”
Buckland Commons on Deming Road and Buckland Road
Construction has begun on the 2,000-square-foot building that will house Farmington Bank, which will be the first branch of that bank east of the Connecticut River, according to Lipe. A second 17,000-square-foot building consisting of retail and office space will also be built on that site, Lipe said.
“We’re excited to see commercial development on the easterly side of Buckland Road,” Lipe said.
International Baccalaureate Magnet School on Long Hill and Chapel Road
The 65,000-square-foot CREC pre-K through 5 elementary school has been approved and work is set to begin any day, Lipe said. The parcel, about 14 and a half acres, must first be cleared of trees before any construction can begin, Lipe said. It is hoped that the project will be completed by January 2014, according to Lipe.
Nutmeg Village on Pleasant Valley Road
The large development consisting of 155 condominium units and six industrial lots on 60 acres of land is still winding its way through the approval process. The Inland Wetlands Commission on July 11 continued its hearing after an intervenor filed to be a part of the application. The Planning & Zoning Commission also continued its hearing on July 10, as it cannot act before Inlands Wetlands renders a decision on the project. After 3 and a half years, the project appears poised to gain approval, however.
Town Square at Evergreen Walk
The plans for this project include 200 apartments in two separate buildings and a hotel to be constructed on a tract next to The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk. All of the approvals are in place, Lipe said, and it’s up to the developer to start construction.
“We’re ready when they’re ready,” Lipe said.
There are also a couple of smaller projects that are being worked on around town, including the new turn lane into the Town Hall/Library complex.
Lipe said that no taxpayer money was spent on this project, which called for a developer to provide a turn lane into the Town Hall/Library complex as well as the widening of the complex’s driveway. The project was required as a result of a traffic study, Lipe said.
An Update on Construction Projects in South Windsor
There are no fewer than seven major commercial developments that have either broken ground or are near to it around town.
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Steve Phillips May 18, 2013 at 08:55 am
Mr. McCann arrogantly conducts himself on the Town Council and here as if he is above criticism,…Read More forgetting (or simply not caring) about the privilege and responsibility serving elected office holds. A privilege and responsibility granted by the very same constituents McCann insults with comments above. Lacking empathy and humility are never traits respected leaders aspire, and sadly what McCann has disrespectfully expressed here.
Susan May 17, 2013 at 06:18 pm
Totally agree with you Mr. Sullivan. There are some who cannot use their real name or only a first…Read More name at fear of being attacked. Being a politician Mr. McCann has no problem speaking out. If you disagree with him you get ripped apart. I have witnessed it first hand by watching the council meetings on TV.
Michael Sullivan May 17, 2013 at 04:00 pm
Some folks choose not to use their real or full names on public bulletin boards and blogs……Read More Welcome to the 21st century Mr. McCann! Indeed the terms of use for Patch say quite clearly: "We encourage, but do not require, that the user name you provide be your real name." Mr. McCann you have chosen to be a public figure and politician. Others who may only wish to participate anonymously on blogs and postings such as these are not required to participate at whatever _you_ may deem to be an acceptable level.
Larry Torff May 17, 2013 at 10:29 pm
If tax, spend, borrow and figure out how to pay for it later is the way to budget for the future,…Read More I'll take the old guard, thank you.
Michael Sullivan May 16, 2013 at 01:08 pm
I believe there's a misprint - the title should have been "BORROWING for the future"?
keith yagaloff May 14, 2013 at 06:07 pm
Darren, I've said many times that a small scale fields project could have been approved as early as…Read More last summer. There are opportunities to fund the project from within the existing budget. Tom and I both offered to use money from the contingency account to get the planning studies completed. The hockey rink proponents never brought any actual data to the council. The town manager and our financial consultant gathered financial data and notified the council that the project was not viable. A political fight over funding the pension using 7.75% versus 8% as the discount rate was unnecessary. The pension was funded in accordance with the ARC, as town councils have done virtually every year since the pension was in place. Fluctuations due to market conditions far exceed the differences in proposed funding. We have had positive town audits with no indication that the town's financial rating is at risk. The town is financially very healthy.
Darren DeMartino May 14, 2013 at 05:13 pm
Keith I think Buford makes a lot of sense. The large majority of this tax increase was caused by the…Read More past council members for years more worried about getting reelected than the current council. This increase was fueled by years of cutting to the bone, pushing things off when they should have been dealt with in a timely fashion. Mayor Delnicki (not Delnickie) who you have praised so much over the past day or so himself warned numerous times that this increase was coming. He stated numerous times on camera and in the press that there would be a day of reckoning in the future due to the cuts we had made over the years and now that it is here no one wants to face it. Now that you and Tom are on the same side it is interesting how much your perspective has changed? It is interesting in your article that you reference how certain councilors have embrace the borrow and spend mentality yet you and your cohorts voted against amendments to fund the pension based upon a more realistic 7.75% discount rate in comparison to 8% as well as an amendment that would have prevented us from taking $800,000 out of found account(savings account) which could negatively impact our future ratings. In regards to the fields you have stated you are in favor of them so if so why not take advantage of low construction costs and historically low interest rates to invest in something that will make our town a more desirable place to live? In regards to the hockey rink why is it that we never even got the facts about what the financial impact would be to the town. We both know it was because somehow egos got in the way of exploring what would be best for our town. Our town is a great place to live but if we continue down this past that wont be the case in a very short time.
keith yagaloff May 14, 2013 at 03:22 pm
Dear Buford, thank you for your comments. You more than adequately describe your views when you…Read More write "Unfortunately for you, you live in a 1%er town in a 1%er state." All that my wife and I possess was earned through honest hard work and we take no shame in that. Never once, however, did it cross my mind to use taxpayer money to fund projects for myself and my friends. I feel sorry for other hard working people living in South Windsor who find their tax dollars have been co-opted by elected officials who think they are running Apple or Walmart.
Philip E. Koboski May 15, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Lemiel Odell's comments regarding the sports teams at the high school are both uninformed and unfair…Read More to the student athletes on those teams. It's always best to know what you are talking about before posting something online to show that you really don't. First, the swim team. That group of student athletes completed while fully funding themselves for at least two years. Since its inception, there has been no issues with filling roster spots. As for the hockey team, you just need to read the scores in the sports page to see that we are one of the very few schools in the area that is not a "combined team". Other teams in our conference are made up of athletes from two or three schools. The South Windsor High School ice hockey team continues to fill it's roster with students from town. Obviously, there is an interest. While Mr. Odell may support the students option to play, he shoudl at least respect it. His comments about the turf field would be correct if his letter was written in 1974, when Astro-turf was still in use. The new turf fields are far more player-friendly and the last time I heard any complaint about turf-toe was from Fran Tarkenton and his days in Minnesota. The cushion under the turf is now designed to minimize the risk of concussions, and it takes just a small bit of research to see that the major cause of concussions is head-to-head contact. Yes, I said it, HEAD-TO-HEAD CONTACT. While I agree that the town shoudl not have funded a new business in town at the expense of an existing business, it is no secret that South WIndsor needs a new ice arena to replace the one we have now. I have played in that arena, and into the mid-1990's, there was still chicken wire above the boards, not plexi-glass. There was not a player on any team that would ever venture to shower in those locker rooms. They were disgusting, and as a South Windsor resident, I am embarrassed to have players from other towns go into them. Knowing that the 63-20 financing would not be used to finance a new rink in town, Councilor Bazzano still led the effort to educate the citizens in how this financing could work to help with other projects in the town. Sadly, his efforts were undercut by Mayor Delnicki in that meeting with him pushing it towards the incorrect thought that this would go directly to build a new rec center in town. This was a great opportunity to help the folks of South WIndsor understand how this could come into play for other improvements in town, and it was torpedoed byt he mayor and another Councilor who attacked one of the attorneys as he answered questions from the Town Council. That exchange let to Councilor Snyder to call for a point of order in the meeting and both Councilor Bazzano and Councilor McCann to say that the attack was enough. That was an opportunity that was lost, and that is truly a shame.
Darren DeMartino May 13, 2013 at 03:45 pm
The blog above references an $10,000,000 unaffordable hockey rink and that Mayor Delnicki should be…Read More praised. Why would we praise him? He did everything he could to squash this project before we even got to see the finances of the project and whether or not it would have been a benefit to South Windsor. He continually references how he is a voice for the taxpayer. I take issue with that statement as there are a number of taxpayers myself included who feel that we need to invest in our town to protect our property values, not defer all expenses for as long as we can. Has he ever met a budget year that he didn't say was going to be terrible? How is borrowing from the fund balance to pay for current expenses a benefit to our town? How is deferring necessary pension contributions going to benefit us, young families who have just moved to town, or more importantly our children that would like to stay in this town when they get older?
Hank Cullinane May 17, 2013 at 07:46 am
so you are saying Soccer mom's and Softball dad's are entrenched special interest groups?
Steve Phillips May 16, 2013 at 05:23 pm
Well Hank, I must say, there does not seem to be a single athletic group that does not send Bazzano,…Read More McCann et al hearts aflutter. The result? Million dollar Boondoggles like an ice rink, turf fields and an unnecessary Athletic Complex.