Decade in review: Big plans never went beyond drawing board

Southeastern Connecticut plunged headlong into the new millennium with a gaggle of developers who were carrying briefcases filled with artists' renderings and dreams: for the transformation of Fort Trumbull in New London and the Oswegatchie Hills in East Lyme, the Seaside Regional Center in Waterford, and soon-to-be-unleashed plans for indoor race tracks and amusement parks, among others.

As the decade draws to a close, hardly any of them came to be, but their journeys were all memorable.

Whether it was lawsuits, the economy, or straight-out application denials, most of the big plans for the region died on the vine. Others lie dormant, their backers pledging to bring them back once the economy turns.

Some of the more memorable development stories this past decade include:

Fort Trumbull, New London

In January 2000, city councilors were looking for news on whether New London's Waterfront Park would be open in time for OpSail 2000. The council also heard an update on other fledgling "city revitalization projects" from Rita Zangari, the deputy commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

Pfizer was readying to build its global research facility on Pequot Avenue, and Zangari told the council some of the other priorities included a hotel and conference center in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood plus biotech and bioscience offices and labs.

"We feel a certain level of ownership (in New London)," Zangari said. "It is not simply the NLDC or the city. When push comes to shove, we all feel part of this plan."

By the end of 2009, the story of Fort Trumbull had splintered into a myriad of tales, launching the city into the national spotlight in a debate over the use of eminent domain and the role of the pharmaceutical giant in formulating the Fort Trumbull plans.

The peninsula is largely vacant heading into 2010; Pfizer is leaving New London and the hotel and conference center, as well as the major components of the Municipal Development Plan, have not come to pass.

Norwich Hospital property, Preston

After the state closed the former hospital in 1996, it tried unsuccessfully to market and sell the waterfront property itself before allowing Preston a three-year window to give it a go on the town's 419 acres beginning in January 2006.

The town spent most of that year negotiating with Utopia Studios Ltd., whose principal owner, Joseph Gentile, said he would build a theme park and studios on the scale of DisneyWorld in Florida.

Preston terminated its development agreement in November 2006 after the developer failed to meet a series of deadlines, and then the town started its search anew in 2007. Town officials and residents chose Northland Investment Corp. and its plans for a luxury resort in July 2008; talks broke down by October of that year.

Afraid of what would happen should the property revert to state control, residents voted in February of this year for the town to purchase it from the state; Preston bought it for $1 in March and is also responsible for the multimillion-dollar environmental cleanup.

The town is working on a master plan for developing the property, its vision for the parcel that it will want any suitors to follow.

Oswegatchie Hills, East Lyme

A Middletown-based developer at first eyed the 700-acre expanse of woodlands along the Niantic River for condos and a golf course, then by 2002, after denials of those earlier plans, had turned his attention and focus to affordable housing.

When the town rejected those plans, Glenn Russo of Landmark Development Group filed suit, both to appeal the denial and then a federal civil rights lawsuit that alleged the town was purposefully preventing minorities from coming to East Lyme by blocking affordable housing.

After 5½ years in court, a federal judge granted the town's motion to dismiss the federal lawsuit in March. Russo's appeal of the dismissal is pending.

Seaside Regional Center, Waterford

After more than 10 years of talks, developer Mark Steiner was ready to buy 32 acres of the property, once a residential center for the mentally handicapped, for a condominium development when the state pulled the plug in 2007.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced in December of that year the state's intention to hold on to the 36-acre property. The announcement sealed a unanimous decision made a month earlier by the Government Administration and Elections Committee to reject a $7.1 million purchase-and-sale agreement between Steiner and the state Department of Public Works.

The plans had been supported by Rell's own commissioners, along with local officials and legislators.

Local and state officials repeatedly asked Rell to reverse her decision and in July, staring at a large state deficit, the governor abruptly changed course and suggested the state put the property up for sale along with other "salable assets" to raise cash.

Now, with the property back on the market, Steiner says the purchasing agreement remains valid and the administration must offer it to him before letting others bid. Steiner's attorney wrote to the state in early December, warning that any attempt to sell to a developer other than Steiner could trigger a lawsuit for breach of contract.

Other proposals

In Plainfield, developer Eugene Arganese's New England Raceway proposed a 140,000-seat domed auto raceway with a one-mile oval track and quarter-mile concrete drag strip. In July 2006, the town's Planning and Zoning Commission eliminated its controversial zoning district that would have allowed for large-scale entertainment projects.

In Old Saybrook, environmental groups, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the attorney general have fought against development of a 1,000-acre tract of open space known as The Preserve.

The property lies primarily in the northwestern portion of Old Saybrook, with parts that extend into Essex and Westbrook.

River Sound Development, LLC, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Inc., proposed an 18-hole golf course along with 220 homes for The Preserve. The property is one of the largest pieces of forested wetlands remaining in the state.

On Oct. 14, 2005, after more than a week of nonstop rain, a retaining wall collapsed at the Montville Commons construction site, creating a mudslide that sent tons of bricks and wet dirt tumbling down a steep hillside toward and threatening houses along Podurgiel Lane.

No one was injured in the mudslide, which came two days after the town issued a cease-and-desist order against the strip mall developer because of persistent mudslides along the slope. The mudslide forced the evacuation of 18 residences and the temporary closure of Route 32.

State officials quickly shut down the project and determined a dam built on the property violated state regulations. The DEP ultimately required the Montville Commons developers to install a "modified water retention system" to replace the dam to "ensure the stability of the steep slope on the site."

In May 2008, the state settled its lawsuit against the developer and property owner for $750,000; that settlement came three months after residents of Podurgiel Lane completed their own settlement with the firms. Those amounts were undisclosed.

Casino expansion

Both casinos expanded substantially, highlighted by Foxwoods Resort Casino adding the MGM Grand Casino and Mohegan Sun adding a shopping area and another gaming area.

The Waterford Commons shopping complex and Target opened, both located up the road from the Crystal Mall. Along with a multitude of stores, the expanded development brought with it chain restaurants like the Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse.

In Stonington, developer Tarragon Corp. proposed a $125 million project that would have converted several properties along Route 1 and Wequetequock Cove into luxury condominiums, retail space and a marina.

Tarragon at one time had proposed a number of major developments for the region, including along the Thames River in Montville. Those projects fell through, mostly in 2007, as the company ran into financial troubles and turned its attention to selling assets rather than developing new properties.

Also in Stonington, the Liberty Crossing project, originally envisioned as a $125 million shopping and residential village on Route 2, has not come to fruition.

The Stonington Commons luxury condominium and home project was built on the former Monsanto site in the borough. Developer David Lattizori is on his fourth attempt to develop the Perkins Farm property in Mystic into a $70 million shopping and residential village.

k.crompton@theday.com