Fort Trumbull: The empty acreage is ready for what's next. Is the New London community?

"I'm very impressed and intrigued that you may be at a moment in time to be able to seize an opportunity for something the community can feel good and excited about."

When is the last time someone spoke with such enthusiasm about the potential for developing the Fort Trumbull section of New London? Yet those were the words of Alan Plattus, founder of the Yale Urban Design Workshop, when he attended a roundtable discussion Jan. 28 organized by The Day Editorial Board.

So painful was the eminent domain fight resulting from the city's attempt to clear the site as a way of revitalizing Fort Trumbull, so much time has passed without substantial progress, that it is difficult for locals to view it with any positive feelings.

Those ousted from their homes and others who rallied to their defense will always remember what they saw as an injustice. Some of those who backed the revitalization effort have moved on, while those who remain still resent their depiction as villains by many in a community they felt they were trying to help.

But when Alan Plattus views Fort Trumbull, he sees neither a former legal and social-class battleground nor a failed development effort. He sees opportunities. He sees a rare piece of available waterfront land, adjacent to the Fort Trumbull State Park, outfitted with public utilities installed to promote development, free of the industrial pollution problems that once marred it.

What he does not see is a community with a vision for the peninsula.

For 18 years the Yale Urban Design Workshop has worked with communities in the state to help them visualize future development and reach a consensus on how to move forward. Through creative design approaches, seemingly disparate concepts can work together, he told fellow panelists and the roughly 20 audience members who attended the discussion at The Day.

Some form of residential development will likely have to drive a revitalization of Fort Trumbull, along with small-scale commercial, as part of a pedestrian friendly new community built on a scale that compliments the neighboring downtown, said Plattus.

John Brooks of the New London Development Corp. spoke encouragingly of the flexibility to adopt the Municipal Development Plan for the property, which has received all necessary environmental and other regulatory approvals, to adopt to dramatically different economic circumstances than existed when the plan was developed a decade ago.

Hotel and commercial office space, building upon the then-new Pfizer offices, drove the planning at the time. Now the area has a glut of commercial space and Pfizer is leaving its offices.

Deputy Mayor Adam Sprecace, who helped The Day in arranging the discussion, saw it as a potential new starting point, a chance to put behind the hard feelings and move forward.

Whether the Yale Urban Design Workshop can help the city in moving ahead is up to the City Council and the community. Estimates to employ the design group have ranged from $20,000 to $50,000, but corporate and economic development grants could help offset the expense.

The Editorial Board invited participants in the Jan. 28 roundtable to write some of their own thoughts about the discussion and what they would like to see happen next. Those commentaries are linked below. Along with today's editorial, we hope they inspire further discussion.

Readers can join in by writing letters to The Day, P.O. Box 1231, New London, CT 06320, e-mailing to letters@theday.com or by leaving comments on theday.com. Letters to the editor are limited to 200 words.

Related content:

2/14 editorial - Finding shared vision for Fort Trumbull

Roundtable Guest Opinions:

John Brooks: The Project Manager

Kathleen Mitchell: The Activist

Adam T. Sprecace: The Councilor

Alan J. Plattus: The Planner