Mystic — The Golden Triangle, ground zero for the region’s tourist economy, is undergoing a renaissance not seen since its inception more than 40 years ago. 

More than a dozen projects, worth in excess of $150 million, are in the concept stage, under construction or recently completed near Interstate 95's Exit 90, in an area roughly bounded by Route 27, Coogan Boulevard and Jerry Brown Road.

“We’ve been mired in the downturn for so long, it's like spring has come,” said Stephen Coan, president and CEO of Sea Research Foundation, the parent organization of Mystic Aquarium. “The demographics and market studies have always shown this is a very promising area with multiple uses. The development happening now has been pent up for some time.”

At the top of the project list is a proposal for a $60 million health, research and academic campus with residences on 70 acres of the Perkins Farm, running along the east side of Jerry Brown Road from Coogan Boulevard to Pequotsepos Road.

That project, which will need sewer and zoning approvals, is projected to become the Town of Stonington’s largest taxpayer, generating $1.1 million in annual revenue. While Mystic includes portions of both Groton and Stonington, all the projects are in Stonington.

A short distance away at the end of Clara Drive, the roadway that leads to McQuade's Marketplace, construction continues on the $30 million, 179-unit Masonicare assisted living facility, slated to open later this year. The nonprofit will pay $140,000 a year to the town in lieu of taxes.

Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport and the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center also have major projects underway.

The aquarium has broken ground on a $5 million research center but that is just the beginning of what aquarium officials envision as a $25 million to $50 million investment over the next decade to upgrade the facility to accommodate new exhibits and animals such as otters and elephant seals.

The Mystic Seaport’s $11.5 million Thompson Exhibit Building is scheduled to open in September and is aimed at making the museum more of a year-round destination by offering additional display space for its vast collections as well as traveling exhibits.

On April 25, the nature center will unveil a renovated farmhouse and barn, the centerpiece of the $5 million transformation of the former Coogan Farm along Route 27 into the Coogan Farm Nature & Heritage Center.

Olde Mistick Village, a collection of shops and restaurants built to resemble a historic New England village, is also undergoing a mini building boom highlighted by the transformation of the movie theater into Mystic Luxury Cinemas, which opened in December.

The Pink Basil restaurant has opened, Mango’s Wood Fire Pizza restaurant has expanded and a former laundromat is being turned into a breakfast shop.

Joyce Resnikoff, who along with her brother created Olde Mistick Village 43 years ago and has run it ever since, said the economy's improvement after a 10-year decline is one reason for the development.

"I think we're beginning to see some strong daylight here. We're into a new phase," she said.

Last fall, the new owners of the Mystic Hilton unveiled a top-to-bottom renovation of the 29-year-old hotel across from the aquarium.

Charter Oak Federal Credit Union is renovating the former Jake’s Wayback Burgers location on Route 27 and is planning a spring opening.

The Town of Stonington and the Trust for Public Land are negotiating a deal to buy 1.6 acres along the northern boundary of the Mystic Seaport to provide a home for a Stonington High School crew team boathouse and additional public access to the Mystic River.

Other renovations have taken place in a multi-tenant commercial building on Route 27 just south of Coogan Boulevard, and the vacant Lazy Burrito shop in the Mystic Factory Outlets is being turned into a gym.

And a little more than a year ago, West Marine built a new store at Coogan Boulevard and Maritime Drive.

Stonington officials are working on finding a new owner and tenants for the Maritime Drive Monsanto seed research facility, which is slated to close later this year. They hope the building boom in the Golden Triangle, especially in the medical field, will fuel interest in the building, its laboratory, greenhouses and fields.

Blunt White, chairman of the Stonington Economic Development Commission, said the two “economic drivers” for the new development are tourism and elder care, both of which are expanding.

“We don’t have much manufacturing and commercial fishing here any more,” he said.

Coan said the current development likely will spur more investment and bring attention to the significant transportation needs of the region and possible solutions, such as the widening of I-95 and connecting the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's commuter line with Shore Line East rail service.

Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons said that while businesses are leaving other communities in the state, Stonington and the village of Mystic have something the others lack — they are a major tourist destination.

“We have history, culture, the environment, award-winning restaurants, entertainment. We’ve got shopping, but we’re not a mall packed with big boxes. When you go to Olde Mistick Village, you can sit next to a duck pond or visit a colonial meetinghouse,” he said. “This is a place people want to visit and invest in.”

Simmons said the projects will help grow a grand list that has remained stagnant during recent years, create jobs and provide tax revenue to help pay for the town’s $69 million renovation of its elementary schools.

While the Mystic Seaport, Mystic Aquarium, Coogan Farm and boathouse development will not generate new tax revenue because their owners are tax-exempt organizations, White said these projects will create jobs and bring in tourists who in turn spend money in local hotels, restaurants and shops, all of which pay taxes and employ residents.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas