Town of Clinton, Connecticut Action Plan for the Historic ... · PDF fileTown of Clinton, Connecticut Action Plan for the Historic ... Market condition observations ... Action Plan

Action Plan for the Historic Unilever Property and Area | Town of Clinton The Cecil Group | FXM | Heritage Resources | Tighe & Bond

Town of Clinton, Connecticut

Action Plan for the Historic Unilever Property and Area Community Workshop #1 | Community Visioning Saturday, January 22, 2014 10:00am-2:00pm


Community Workshop #1 | Community Visioning

Agenda 1. Purpose of the Study

a) Project Statement b) Project Goals c) Project Schedule

2. Evaluation of Existing Conditions and Trends a) Land use and urban design b) Applicable plans and policies c) Regulatory review d) Market condition observations e) Environmental conditions

3. Breakout Group Discussion

a) Craft Initial Visions for Redevelopment b) Provide for Historic Preservation c) Unlock Appropriately-Scaled Redevelopment

4. Next Steps


1 – Purpose of the Study

Study Area



Project Schedule



Goals 1. Establish a shared community

vision for the Study Area

2. Develop a revitalization plan and action strategy for the Unilever Property

3. Create an approach to transit-oriented development for the study area

4. Establish a Historic District or Village District


2 – Evaluation of Existing Conditions and Trends

Project Area Area: 162 acres

Number of Parcels: 117 Number of Buildings: 217 Number of Owners: 106



Historic Context



Regional Context



Land Use and Connectivity Transportation Network

Central Ave

Downtown Revitalization Project

Station improvements



Land Use and Urban Design Land Use

Central Ave

Single Family Residential

Multi-Family Residential

Commercial/Retail

Industrial

Institutional

Recreation

Vacant



Land Use and Urban Design Existing Buildings

Central Ave



Land Use and Urban Design Existing Parking

Central Ave



Natural Features

Central Ave Development would require independent distributed wastewater

Public water supply may have limitations



Natural Features

Undesignated Tidal Wetland



Natural Features

Coastal Boundary



Land Use and Urban Design Ownership Patterns

Central Ave

Owner Occupied

Owner at Different Address



Land Use and Urban Design Historic Properties

Central Ave

1 John Street

22 High Street

98 High Street

Individually Eligible

Contributing to a District * Based upon Historic

Resource Inventory (March 2013)



Regulatory Review Current Zoning

Central Ave B-3

B-4

I-2

R-20

R-30

R-10

R-10

R-10

B-2

B-2

I-1

R-20



Regulatory Review

1. Zone I-1 Industrial a) Residential uses not permitted

2. Dimensional Characteristics

Zone Min. Lot Area (w/o water)

Min. Lot Area (w/ water)

Min. Setback from Street (FT)

Max Height (Stories)

Max Height (FT)

Max. Aggregate Ground Coverage

R-10 20,000 10,000 25 3 35 20%

R-20 30,000 20,000 30 3 35 15%

R-30 40,000 30,000 35 3 35 15%

B-2 10,000 10,000 n/a 3 40 60%

B-3 10,000 10,000 n/a 3 35 90%

B-4 20,000 20,000 n/a 3 40 80%

I-1 20,000 20,000 25 -- 50 75%

I-2 40,000 40,000 50 -- 50 75%



Land Use and Urban Design Unilever Ownership

Central Ave



Plans and Policies 1. Route 1 Corridor Study

a) Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook b) Long-range intermodal travel and

quality of life along corridor c) RiverCOG, FHI, others

2. ConnDOT Improvements to

Clinton Station a) New fully canopied 200 foot-long

high-level platform at north side of tracks

b) Pedestrian bridge over tracks with connecting elevators and stairs

c) Similar to Guilford Shore Line East Station

d) Add 22 parking spaces to north side



Market Conditions Basic Demographic Facts and Figures

Information from Partnership for Strong Communities (www.pschousing.org)




Information from Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. (www.cerc.com)




Information from Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. (www.cerc.com)



Market Conditions FXM Observations

• No projected growth in population and households through 2018 (Nielsen Site Reports)

• Median household income same as Middlesex County, slightly less than Estuary subregion

• Relatively high % of jobs in Clinton are retail compared to subregion, County and State

• Potential retail development opportunities based on opportunity/gap assessment; including: Convenience store Specialty food store Sporting goods, hobby, musical instruments Limited service eating places Computer and software store Furniture store



Environmental Conditions

1. It is likely site and building remediation will need to occur – known issues, severity is unclear

2. It would occur as part of a site redevelopment process

3. The extent to which it will be required is unknown and very difficult to know at this time



Environmental Conditions

1. Review of files from Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP)

a) Underground tank field for hazardous waste storage (12,000 gallon tank installed 1994)

b) 1994 samples indicate elevated total petroleum hydrocarbons in two samples

c) Six reported releases/spills at the site, mostly pertaining to industrial waste water (treated and untreated) to the ground surface

d) On-site wastewater treatment building

2. Clean Water Act Violation (2008) a) Unilever pleads guilty (article from 12/05/13) b) $1M fine, $3.5M to state and local environmental

programs c) Fishway at Chapman Mill Pond and $500K for

other environmentally beneficial projects


a) Think about models you've seen that could be a good fit for Clinton b) What are the lessons (positive & negative) learned from other communities?

3 – Working Groups

Visioning Ideas

Mass MoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art

• Opened in 1999

• In 1986, 1 year after Sprague Electric’s closing creative reuse was considered

• Partnered with Williams College Museum of Art

• Mass MoCA has published a book From Mill to Museum outlining the history and process




Visioning Ideas

Dia:Beacon, Beacon, New York Part of Dia Art Foundation’s constellation of sites

• Opened in 2003

• Former Nabisco box printing factory

• 300,000 SF factory with 34,000 SF of skylights

• Welcomes over 75,000 visitors per year with $12.5M in economic stimulus for the region




Visioning Ideas

United Shoe Factory, Beverly, Massachusetts Now Cummins Center

• Opened in 1996

• Created 2,000 new jobs with a combined payroll of over $200M

• Business incubator with over 500 businesses




Visioning Ideas

Colt Factory, Hartford, Connecticut Colt Armory Development

• Ongoing revitalization

• 277,000 SF

• $120M mixed-use project with residential, commercial, retail and museum components




Visioning Ideas

Eastworks, Easthampton, Massachusetts Live/work small business community

• Converted in 1999

• 500,000 SF

• Former Stanley Home Products

• Live/work apartments

• Industrial artisans, small business offices, creative entrepreneurs and live/work loft apartments.




Visioning Ideas

Rising Sun Mills, Providence, Rhode Island Mixed-use residential and office

• Originally textile mills

• Includes residential, restaurant and commercial office tenants

• 135 loft units

• 120,000 SF office




Visioning Ideas

Village-scale Housing Compact residential redevelopment

• Planned village type communities

• Concord, Massachusetts

• Londonderry, New Hampshire

• Windsor, Connecticut




Visioning Ideas

Village-scale Housing Compact residential redevelopment

• Planned village type communities

• Concord, Massachusetts

• Londonderry, New Hampshire

• Windsor, Connecticut


Contribute to a shared community vision for the area:

• What do you think is possible in this district in the future?

• What future opportunities would you like to see grown in this area of Clinton?

• How can this area best contribute to the Town?

• Are there any issues with the area today?

• What would you not want in this area of Clinton?


Break-out Discussions


a) Steering Committee Meeting –

Wednesday, January 29th 6:30pm to 8:30pm

b) Ongoing Stakeholder Interviews

c) Draft Strategies

d) Public Presentation of Strategies (looking toward April)

4 – Next Steps

Next Steps


Town of Clinton, Connecticut

Action Plan for the Historic Unilever Property and Area Community Workshop #1 | Community Visioning Saturday, January 22, 2014 10:00AM-2:00PM

Documents

Town of Clinton, Connecticut Action Plan for the Historic ... · PDF fileTown of Clinton, Connecticut Action Plan for the Historic ... Market condition observations ... Action Plan