Finding shared vision for Fort Trumbull

Optimism may be too strong a word, but there are reasons to feel a sense of expectancy that something good can come of Fort Trumbull. There are reports of an interested developer and enthusiasm that an urban design expert can offer a new perspective on how to move forward.

No one should expect a dramatic turnaround. The premise that the Pfizer research headquarters would spur the revitalization of the peninsula is long gone. Plans for a U.S. Coast Guard museum are on hold.

Pfizer will be vacating over the next couple of years its twin glass and steel office buildings, once the greatest success story in New London's effort to rebuild its' commercial tax base. The corporation, after a series of mergers, is cutting jobs and merging operations. Meanwhile, efforts to privately finance a museum ran into a difficult fundraising environment.

The economy remains weak, credit tight, the state's job outlook distressing. While there is no longer a point to trying to assess blame, the fact is that the prolonged eminent domain fight - resulting from the New London Development Corp.'s effort to seize homes and properties for future development - resulted in the city missing out on an era of easy credit and growth opportunities.

By the time preferred developer Corcoran Jennison had the OK to move forward, economic fault lines had shifted. It could not get financing to move ahead and in 2008 the New London Development Corporation stripped the firm of its exclusive development rights.

So why should the city have any expectancy that development will come to Fort Trumbull? Because the economic cycle will turn again, it always has. And there are signs the city is starting to position itself when a rebound comes. It appears the community is ready to put the bitter eminent domain fight in the past and stride forward.

The Day Editorial Board hosted a roundtable discussion on Jan. 28 about a new vision for Fort Trumbull. Featured speaker Alan J. Plattus, founder of the Yale Urban Design Workshop, expressed great interest in working with city leaders and residents to determine what they collectively want to become of Fort Trumbull. The project manager, John Brooks, said at the gathering that the Municipal Development Plan for the property, which has received the necessary environmental approvals, is flexible enough to entertain a variety of development opportunities.

Much has changed since the city approved the MDP with Pfizer as the fulcrum for revitalization. A new vision is necessary to guide potential future development and the City Council should seriously consider employing the Yale Urban Design Workshop to help shape it.

In today's Perspective section, other participants in the roundtable discuss their thoughts about Fort Trumbull. We hope it starts a healthy discussion.

Meanwhile, like a green sprout poking through the snow, a yet unnamed developer is expressing an interest in constructing an 80-unit townhouse project. The NLDC should pursue the potential development, which could be coordinated into a revised development strategy.

If nothing else, the focus appears to have shifted from the past to Fort Trumbull's future. That alone is a major step.