Record-Journal
09-27-2007, 12:03 AM
MERIDEN -- Residents and business owners told city officials what they envision for downtown Monday.
They said they want specialty shops, a safe park where they can walk, transportation and “good” restaurants. Small hotels, a planetarium and a residential area were among their other ideas.
About 125 people gathered at Lincoln Middle School to talk about the 15-acre site of the former Hub, which was demolished this summer.
“This is a big, complicated project,” City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior said.
Part of what makes the project so complicated is that the land must be used for flood control. Since the mid-1800s, floods have plagued Meriden, and to help fix the problem the city needs to detain storm water.
“We have to understand this is a flood control project first and foremost,” said Mark Arigoni, of Milone and MacBroom Inc., a Cheshire consulting firm.
But the city also has made it a redevelopment project — one that potentially could create jobs and increase Meriden’s commercial tax base. City officials hope the project will change the perception of Meriden, which historically has been known as an industrial city.
Officials are working with three proposals that could alter the public’s view of Meriden. Plans revolve around the need for flood control in the area, but they also take into consideration the state’s desire to make Meriden a stop on the New Haven-to-Springfield commuter rail line. The railroad tracks run parallel to the site.
“We are truly planning here for a multi-modal operation,” said Sean W. Moore, president of the Meriden Chamber of Commerce and a member of the state’s Transportation Strategy Board.
The plans differ in the amount of land designated as open space. The details of the transportation center and a possible parking garage also differ. In one plan, a pond is featured in the center of a park; in the other two plans, Harbor Brook runs through it.
City officials held the informational session Monday to get more ideas for the project.
“Resident input is critical to this process,” Kendzior said at the beginning of the session. “Let’s have a great conversation.”
The 2 1/2-hour event featured an overview of Meriden’s history and a description of the project. Officials stressed the need for flood control.
After attendees heard the facts, they divided into small groups to further discuss various components of the project — from open space and flood control to environment issues and economic development opportunities.
Hector Gonzalez, a Meriden resident, was particularly interested in learning about flood control. “I just wanted to find out what the plans for the waterways were,” he said.
Afterward, Gonzalez said he was pleased with the event and the information he received.
Meriden resident Maria Gonzalez, who is not related to Hector Gonzalez, also said she found the meeting helpful.
Maria Gonzalez came to the meeting at the request of her children and their friends.
The former Hub site should have a basketball court, a playscape and a sprinkler for children to run through in the summer, she said, adding that she also was pushing for a handball court. Maria Gonzalez said her family travels to New York on weekends to play handball.
She also said she would like to see residential buildings for students who attend the Middlesex Community College satellite branch downtown.
Kendzior said the city is not looking to spend a lot of taxpayer money on the project. In the 1980s, he said, Meriden made a large investment in downtown at the expense of taxpayers.
“That’s not the plan here,” he said.
Meriden has secured and is still aggressively seeking state and federal grant money to help pay for the reuse project. In addition to grants that must be applied for, the city is also expecting more funding from the state to be approved in a bond package. Connecticut currently does not have a state bond package.
The General Assembly approved one last week, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she would veto it.
“We’re looking to enhance state money to help this project out,” said House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden.
They said they want specialty shops, a safe park where they can walk, transportation and “good” restaurants. Small hotels, a planetarium and a residential area were among their other ideas.
About 125 people gathered at Lincoln Middle School to talk about the 15-acre site of the former Hub, which was demolished this summer.
“This is a big, complicated project,” City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior said.
Part of what makes the project so complicated is that the land must be used for flood control. Since the mid-1800s, floods have plagued Meriden, and to help fix the problem the city needs to detain storm water.
“We have to understand this is a flood control project first and foremost,” said Mark Arigoni, of Milone and MacBroom Inc., a Cheshire consulting firm.
But the city also has made it a redevelopment project — one that potentially could create jobs and increase Meriden’s commercial tax base. City officials hope the project will change the perception of Meriden, which historically has been known as an industrial city.
Officials are working with three proposals that could alter the public’s view of Meriden. Plans revolve around the need for flood control in the area, but they also take into consideration the state’s desire to make Meriden a stop on the New Haven-to-Springfield commuter rail line. The railroad tracks run parallel to the site.
“We are truly planning here for a multi-modal operation,” said Sean W. Moore, president of the Meriden Chamber of Commerce and a member of the state’s Transportation Strategy Board.
The plans differ in the amount of land designated as open space. The details of the transportation center and a possible parking garage also differ. In one plan, a pond is featured in the center of a park; in the other two plans, Harbor Brook runs through it.
City officials held the informational session Monday to get more ideas for the project.
“Resident input is critical to this process,” Kendzior said at the beginning of the session. “Let’s have a great conversation.”
The 2 1/2-hour event featured an overview of Meriden’s history and a description of the project. Officials stressed the need for flood control.
After attendees heard the facts, they divided into small groups to further discuss various components of the project — from open space and flood control to environment issues and economic development opportunities.
Hector Gonzalez, a Meriden resident, was particularly interested in learning about flood control. “I just wanted to find out what the plans for the waterways were,” he said.
Afterward, Gonzalez said he was pleased with the event and the information he received.
Meriden resident Maria Gonzalez, who is not related to Hector Gonzalez, also said she found the meeting helpful.
Maria Gonzalez came to the meeting at the request of her children and their friends.
The former Hub site should have a basketball court, a playscape and a sprinkler for children to run through in the summer, she said, adding that she also was pushing for a handball court. Maria Gonzalez said her family travels to New York on weekends to play handball.
She also said she would like to see residential buildings for students who attend the Middlesex Community College satellite branch downtown.
Kendzior said the city is not looking to spend a lot of taxpayer money on the project. In the 1980s, he said, Meriden made a large investment in downtown at the expense of taxpayers.
“That’s not the plan here,” he said.
Meriden has secured and is still aggressively seeking state and federal grant money to help pay for the reuse project. In addition to grants that must be applied for, the city is also expecting more funding from the state to be approved in a bond package. Connecticut currently does not have a state bond package.
The General Assembly approved one last week, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she would veto it.
“We’re looking to enhance state money to help this project out,” said House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden.