STORRS CENTER APPLICATIONS WILL BE PRESENTED TO MANSFIELD PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION ON MARCH 28
Author: Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Inc. and LeylandAlliance LLC
03/28/2007
MANSFIELD, Conn. (March 28, 2007) - The Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc. and Storrs Center Alliance, LLC (an affiliate of LeylandAlliance LLC) will present two zoning applications to the Mansfield Planning & Zoning Commission tonight at 7:00 PM at a Public Hearing. The first application is a Text Amendment to the Mansfield Zoning Regulations that will establish provisions for a new Storrs Center Special Design District zone, including permitted use provisions, application requirements, approval criteria and approval processes. The second application, a Map Amendment, is intended to rezone several parcels of land totaling 47.7 acres east of Storrs Road, between Dog Lane and South Eagleville Road, to a new Storrs Center Special Design District zone classification.
The applications include a preliminary Master Plan with a very detailed set of master plan maps for the project, special design guidelines, and comprehensive parking, traffic and storm water drainage studies. The Commission will receive written comments on the applications until the public hearing has been closed.
The concept for the new Storrs Center Special Design District is to create a flexible zoning district that is appropriate for mixed use projects. As reflected in the current submittals, special design districts require substantial up-front planning and design work to be incorporated into the zoning approval for a particular property. The proposed special design district for Storrs Center –comprising a new downtown area for Mansfield - sets forth extremely detailed building and site design requirements for all subsequent site plan and building design submittals.
In 2004, LeylandAlliance LLC of Tuxedo, New York was selected as the Master Developer for Storrs Center. In 2005, a Municipal Development Plan for the project was completed and approved unanimously by the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Board of Directors, the Windham Region Council of Governments Regional Planning Commission, the Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission, Mansfield Town Council and the University of Connecticut Board of Trustees. The Municipal Development Plan was approved by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development in 2006. The Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission has also approved the first building for the project, designed to accommodate some of the businesses that will be relocated in the Storrs commercial area.
Storrs Center has been envisioned and designed as a center of civic activity that links the University of Connecticut, Mansfield businesses and civic functions, local citizenry and visitors within a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use, ”main street” environment. The project will include on-street retail and restaurant activity, offices, public gathering places, and up to 800 units of new housing, all of which will enjoy the ability to walk to the many uses within Storrs Center as well as theater, sporting events, shows, and lectures at UConn, hiking trails, and many nearby civic institutions such as the Post Office and the Mansfield Community Center. Conceived as a walkable center of commercial, recreational, and civic activities, Storrs Center will be a destination for locals and visitors alike, accessible on foot, bicycle, by bus, or by car.
As an inviting, diverse, and exciting expansion of the Mansfield downtown, Storrs Center is welcomed by UConn as a strong recruitment tool for students and faculty alike. Improvements to Storrs Road, the new Town Square, and the introduction of the new mixed-use environment will help to pull together existing institutions such as the Mansfield Town Hall, E. O. Smith High School, the Post Office, and the Mansfield Community Center, not to mention the University, to create a strong civic core within the downtown area. As the project grows, the Town of Mansfield will benefit from an expanding tax base through the smart development of only a small area of the Town. The project will also bring with it an expanded job market including an estimated 895 permanent jobs annually after full build-out of the project.
With long term livability and sustainability in mind, Storrs Center has been planned with a focus on the public realm and the creation of an inviting pedestrian environment. Access to the mix of retail, commercial, residential, and civic activities is facilitated by a focus on various modes of transportation. Broad sidewalks, tree-lined streets, well-defined pedestrian crossings, and on-street parking are combined with roadway improvements along Storrs Road to create an environment that better balances the needs of pedestrians with those of automobiles. The project design recognizes the need for good traffic management through key improvements in road and intersection configurations.
Principles of “smart growth” and long term sustainability have guided the planning of the project from its inception. Careful analysis of the site determined that development should be concentrated near existing uses and infrastructure in order to best protect valuable ecosystems. Accordingly, the footprint of the new development has been limited to approximately 17 out of an overall 47.7 acres in the project area. Most of the remaining space will be preserved as open, conservation area, maintaining a long-standing policy and commitment of the Town of Mansfield. The plan calls for protecting significant wetland areas and a vernal pool. A state-of-the-art storm water management system will dramatically improve the quality of water reaching the wetland area. Infrastructure and buildings will be constructed in accordance with a carefully studied series of guidelines under development with the Mansfield Downtown Partnership.
Ultimately, the project can provide a model for the state, the region, and the nation in terms of creating a vibrant new downtown through community participation, careful design, land planning strategies, and the application of fundamental principles for “smart growth”.
After approval of the Special Design District by the Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission, numerous additional permits for details of the project will be required at the local, state and federal levels. Planning and Zoning approvals will be followed by the required site plan approval process with an eye towards a 2008 groundbreaking.
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