Business & Tech

May 20 Set As Groundbreaking For Fort Trumbull Condominium Development

First phase of "Village on the Thames" to begin in New London next month

May 20 has been set as the day the first shovels will go in the ground on a condominium development at Fort Trumbull.

Robert Stillman, a principal of River Bank Construction of Westport, said at Thursday’s annual meeting of the Renaissance City Development Association that work will begin on the first phase of the “Village on the Thames.” This proposal, first brought to the city in 2010, aims to construct 103 residential units in over 70 Greek Revival and Italiante style buildings. These condominiums will be built on four lots that once contained structures of the Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory.

The first phase will build 15 units on the lot adjacent to the Coast Guard station and 19 units on the lot adjacent to Fort Trumbull State Park. Stillman said the second phase will commence once occupancy begins in the first round of buildings.

River Bank Construction recently purchased building permits for the first phase of the project, paying the city a permit fee of $83,000.21.

Stillman said the company has been giving scrutiny to the project and developed more than 700 architectural renderings up to this point. He said River Bank Construction was supported by the RCDA, mayor’s administration, and members of the City Council during the process.

“If this project is ultimately to be a success, the praise needs to be distributed to all the civic-minded people in the community,” he said.

RCDA president Michael Joplin said the organization aims to revitalize the city through development projects. He said this has started to occur in areas such as the renovation of the office building at 1 Chelsea Street in Fort Trumbull.

“It will change the identity of the fort,” Joplin said about Village on the Thames. “It will also alter the tax base, even slightly, of the city of New London.”

Mayor Daryl Finizio said the development will come as Electric Boat is expanding their workforce in their New London location. He praised River Bank Construction for seeking to be environmentally sustainable in the work and said other developers at the peninsula should seek to do so as well. Finizio also said moving the project forward has involved cooperation among numerous entities on issues such as moving the school bus fleet from a lot at Fort Trumbull.

“The buses are gone, and the next time you see a bus in Fort Trumbull it will be to pick up child for school,” he said. In 2011, River Bank Construction won a tax abatement for the first part of the project. This allows a 95 percent exemption on taxes on rental units, with the deferral going to River Bank Construction. The percentage would decrease to 50 percent in the sixth year and 25 percent in the seventh year as part of the plan to transition to owner-occupied units after an initial rental phase.

The abatement also allows an exemption of 70 percent of property tax on owner-occupied units for the first year, with a 10 percent decrease each year thereafter through the fifth year.

RCDA development coordinator John Brooks said the announcement of a groundbreaking date marks a major advance since the organization’s annual meeting in 2012. Brooks said at that time, Stillman had recently received Planning and Zoning Commission approval to go ahead with the project.

“From there to today is a lot of progress in a little over a year,” he said.

Frank McLaughlin, RCDA project manager, said the organization is also pursuing the recommendations of the Yale Urban Design Workshop on Fort Trumbull. McLaughlin said early steps in this study include enhancing connections between downtown and the peninsula through steps such as bike paths or a water taxi service.

“We have committees working on almost every one of those items,” said McLaughlin.

Brooks said other developments in Fort Trumbull’s municipal development plan include the sale of a Howard Street office building to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and interest in the former Miner and Alexander lumberyard. He said RCDA is also working to put together a request for proposals for further development at the peninsula.

Joplin said the RCDA should reexamine its strategic operating plan to analyze what the wants and needs are for Fort Trumbull. Tammy Daugherty, director of the Office of Development and Planning, said the city is negotiating with Electric Boat to have them take over the former bus lot to expand parking for employees.

“We’re not going to pave over Fort Trumbull…We’ve made it clear that we need to be good stewards of the land,” said Daugherty.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here