With the arrival of warmer spring weather, the Town resumed work on its streetscape improvements on Storrs Road (Route 195) and Dog Lane.

In April, the Town’s contractor, Milton C. Beebe & Sons Construction of Mansfield, installed new crosswalks on Dog Lane.

New crosswalks have been installed on Dog Lane.

Beebe is currently adding medians in Storrs Road. In addition to beautifying the street, the medians will serve as a traffic-calming measure on this busy section of road.

The construction of medians in Storrs Road is underway.

Another traffic calming measure, which will also serve to beautify the area, will be new street trees along Storrs Road. These will be planted in the coming months. There will be trees every fifty feet along the road, in between the street lights.

The trees will be interspersed with the street lights.

Plantings are also planned for along the new stone wall in front of E. O. Smith High School.

The stone wall runs along the front of E. O. Smith High School.

Construction of One Royce Circle continues; the building is expected to be ready for residents of The Oaks on the Square in August 2013. The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry recently announced its plans to move into this new building. The Ballard will join the UConn Co-op (a new, additional location), Haru Aki Café,UConn Health Center medical offices, and Webster Bank in the second phase of Storrs Center.

One Royce Circle construction continues with a goal of opening to residents in August.

 

 

The museum will relocate from its current location at UConn’s Depot campus to a more accessible exhibition and performance space that is part of the new branch of the UConn Co-op at Storrs Center.

“Our move to Storrs Center is a great opportunity for the Ballard Institute to thrive in the middle of a  busy community environment,” says John Bell, Director of the museum and a theater historian. “We  are looking forward to expanding our hours of operation, presenting more puppet performances,  forums, film showings, and symposia, and collaborating with other parts of the UConn and Mansfield  community.”

In its new home, the Ballard Institute and Museum will occupy 4,332 square-feet of museum, performance, and support space on the first floor of the building, providing for an expanded space for one large exhibition or two smaller simultaneous exhibitions.

“We are very excited about the move,” says Cynthia van Zelm, Executive Director of the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Inc. “We feel it will be a destination for visitors with a key location inside the UConn Co-op and near restaurants and other businesses in the downtown.”

The Museum’s permanent collection includes 2,500 puppets consisting of a wide variety of marionettes, hand puppets, shadow fingers, rod puppets, toy theaters, and other figures, as well as hundreds of traditional puppets from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It also includes hundreds of books and more than 1,000 videos and other audio-visual resources.

William Simpson, President and Chief Operating Officer of the UConn Co-op, says working with the Museum in its new Storrs Center location will create an innovative experience for the UConn Co-op and its patrons.

“This will offer the bookstore customer/museum patron a unique environment that they will want to experience again and again. We can’t wait,” says Simpson.

Current exhibitions at the Museum at the Depot campus include “Exceptional and Uncommon: The Puppetry of Dick Myers,” the first-ever exhibition devoted to the unique puppetry of Dick Myers, whose one-man shows excited audiences around the world in the mid-20th century; and “Strings, Rods, and Robots: Recent Acquisitions,” which showcases the exhilarating diversity of puppets from around the world recently acquired by the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry.

UConn is one of only two universities in the country offering a bachelor’s of fine arts in puppet arts and the only one offering master’s degrees in puppet arts. Graduates of the program perform and design for many theatres around the world. Shortly before her death earlier this month, Jane Henson, a puppeteer and original collaborator with Muppets creator Jim Henson, donated $100,000 to establish a scholarship fund for students majoring in puppet arts.

Storrs Center is a new mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented downtown in Mansfield, Connecticut. The downtown features shops, restaurants, services, and apartment homes that are interspersed with a town square and public areas in a new neighborhood located at the intersection of Storrs Road and the University of Connecticut.

For more information about Storrs Center, visit www.storrscenter.com.

Geno’s is the newest restaurant to be operated by Mr. Auriemma and his partners, who also own and operate Geno’s Fast Break in four locations at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.  “This is an incredible opportunity for us.  Our new location in StorrsCenter will afford us the ability to reach a core group of consumers and offer them a fantastic product,” said Auriemma.  “Our executive chef, Calvin Silva, strives to create a memorable experience and great tasting food that is popular with consumers throughout Connecticut.  StorrsCenter feels like home.  We hope Geno’s will be loved by the Mansfield community and campus population as well.”

Geno’s Grille seats more than 100 people and offers both indoor and outdoor seating.  Plans for Geno’s are to provide a relaxed, yet fun, dining experience.  It will be a great place to enjoy a special celebration or to kick back on the weekend with friends.  The varied menu is comprised of dining selections that will appeal to a broad spectrum of patrons.  The phone number for the restaurant is 860-487-9032.  “With Mr. Auriemma’s national reputation in the collegiate sports world, and the success of his restaurant at Mohegan Sun, Geno’s Grille will be a signature restaurant and is sure to be a major draw,” said Howard Kaufman, Managing Member of LeylandAlliance, on behalf of Storrs Center.

Geno’s joins sixteen other restaurants, service establishments, and commercial tenants that have opened in Storrs Center over the last several months.  Storrs Center is a $200 million, mixed-use town center that includes new retail, restaurant, office, and residential development within a planned community of pedestrian walkways, green spaces, and conservation areas.  It is one of the most ambitious public/private initiatives in Connecticut.

Erland Construction completed the build out of Geno’s Grille in January.  Erland, with offices in East Windsor, Connecticut, and Burlington, Massachusetts, is the region’s leading open shop construction management and general contracting firm.  The company has the specialized expertise for new construction, additions, and renovations in major market sectors including academic, residential, commercial, and healthcare.  For more information, visit www.erland.com.

For more information about Storrs Center, visit www.storrscenter.com.

“An authentic downtown needs a bank and we’re pleased to have a bank of the caliber of Webster Bank coming to Storrs Center,” says Storrs Center developer Howard Kaufman, managing member of LeylandAlliance LLC of Tuxedo, New York.  Mr. Kaufman confirmed that Webster Bank has signed a lease for 1,600 square feet at One Royce Circle in Storrs Center.  The full-service banking center, Webster’s 169^th, is expected to open in August.

“Webster’s new banking center in Storrs builds upon our partnership with the University of Connecticut Alumni Association and UCONN Athletics,” said Jerry Plush, President and COO of Webster Bank.  “We look forward to meeting the personal and business banking needs of the Storrs community with exceptional customer service.”

With $20 billion in assets, Webster Bank provides business and consumer banking, mortgage, financial planning, trust and investment services through 168 banking offices, 294 ATMs, telephone banking, mobile banking, and the Internet.  Webster Bank owns the asset based lending firm Webster Business Credit Corporation; the equipment finance firm Webster Capital Finance Corporation; and provides health savings account trustee and administrative services through HSA Bank, a division of Webster Bank.  Member FDIC and equal housing lender.  For more information about Webster, including past press releases and the latest annual report, visit the Webster website at www.websterbank.com or follow the bank on LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/company/webster-bank and Twitter https://Twitter.com/WebsterBank.

By Tom Condon, Hartford Courant

The Mansfield Downtown Partnership will hold two Public Hearings on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at the Mansfield Fire Station 107 meeting hall at 879 Stafford Road, to hear comments on two Zoning Permit applications of Storrs Center Alliance LLC.

7:00 pm: To develop the proposed market area in Storrs Center (Phase 4: Market Square).

7:45 pm: To develop the proposed Town Square-3 (TS-3) building (Phase 1C: Building Town Square-3).

The purpose of the hearings is to receive written or oral comments regarding whether the submitted Zoning Permit applications are in compliance with approval criteria for the Storrs Center Special Design District (the Storrs Center Special Design District regulations are available on the Partnership’s website, www.mansfieldct.org/mdp). The public hearing will include a presentation of the proposed plans. Application materials, including project mapping, are available for review at the Mansfield Planning Office, Mansfield Town Clerk’s Office, the Downtown Partnership office (all at 4 South Eagleville Road), the Mansfield Public Library (54 Warrenville Road), and online at www.mansfieldct.gov.

Storrs Center is a mixed-use town center and main street corridor at the crossroads of the Town of Mansfield and the University of Connecticut. Located along Storrs Road adjacent to the University, the Town Hall, E.O. Smith High School, and the Mansfield Community Center, Storrs Center combines retail, restaurant, and office uses with residential apartments. It is a pedestrian-oriented downtown that also includes a future town square, a conservation area, and other public spaces. The market square area will include a 31,000 square foot grocery store and a 5,000 square foot commercial building and is located at the corner of Charles Smith Way and Storrs Road. The TS-3 building will include 15,270 square feet of commercial space and 92 apartments. It will be located on Storrs Road, adjacent to the proposed Town Square.

For more information about the Storrs Center project, please visit the Partnership’s website, which includes detailed information as well as a list of frequently asked questions. Interested residents may also call the Partnership office (860.429.2740) with questions about the proposed plans for Phase 4 and Phase 1C.

Haru Aki will serve authentic Japanese street fare in a modern restaurant with traditional elements.  “This blend of old and new creates a culture that becomes an important part of the dining experience,” says Mr. Liu.  “The restaurant will serve tapas – small, carefully prepared dishes that are based on Pan-Asian fusion inspirations. The environment of Haru Aki will be similar to edgy restaurants you would expect to find in major cities such as New York, Chicago, or San Francisco.  The food and the environment are equally important to creating an extraordinary experience.” The chief design and architecture firm on this project is Penguin Environmental Design led by Yoko Kawai and Takaya Kurimoto. Yoko holds a Master’s from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Kobe University. Takaya holds a Master’s from Cornell University.

The three friends are all recent UConn alumni and bring varied backgrounds to their new venture.  Ms. Chiep holds a BS in cytogenetics from the School of Agriculture and is leaving her career at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the pathology department. She brings her freelance web design/development skills to the project. Mr. Wang, an operations expert, comes from a family of serial restaurateurs. His most recent one, Anoho in Middletown, Connecticut, has been enjoying success.  Finally, Mr. Liu holds a BS in marketing from the School of Business and currently specializes in sales training and brand marketing consultation. The common bond between all three, besides being childhood friends from West Hartford, is their appreciation for culture, especially through food.

Haru Aki is expected to open in September of 2013 in the One Royce Circle building of Storrs Center.  Specialty items will include hand crafted sashimi salads, house-made curry dumplings, gyu-don, teppanyaki, and okonomiyaki dishes.  Haru Aki will also feature appetizers, sushi, build-your-own boba tea, and a variety of smoothies.  The café will be open seven days a week and will host monthly Saturday morning workshops. These events will feature different cultural experiences such as sushi-rolling, fresh mochi-tastings, various art techniques, anime screenings, and dumpling-making.

Storrs Center developer Howard Kaufman, Managing Member of LeylandAlliance LLC, is excited about the addition of the Haru Aki Café.  “The three operators of Haru Aki are bringing a fun concept to Storrs Center that will fit perfectly into Storrs’ new downtown neighborhood,” says Mr. Kaufman.  “Welcome!”

For more information about Haru Aki Café, visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/HaruAkiCafe or haruakicafe.com (coming soon).