DEEP sets final Seaside hearing; study says hotel would be viable
Waterford — A state-hired consulting company has determined that the former site of the Seaside Regional Center could be developed as a 100-room state park lodge with amenities like a spa, meeting space and restaurant.
State officials and consultants hired to evaluate the possibilities for Seaside will present their master plan for the site at a public hearing May 25 in Waterford.
They will also present the findings of PKF Consulting USA, the company the state hired last year, that the 32-acre former site of a tuberculosis sanatorium and a center for the developmentally disabled could be developed as a 100-room state park lodge with amenities like a spa, meeting space and restaurant.
State officials had proposed establishing a public-private partnership to renovate the property after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced in September 2014 that it would be turned into a state park.
The announcement came as a surprise to local officials as well as Mark Steiner, the developer who had planned to build an inn, restaurant and residences at Seaside.
Steiner filed a claim last year seeking permission to sue the state for breach of contract, seeking $20 million in damages.
That claim is still pending before the state Office of the Claims Commissioner.
Sasaki Associates Inc. and Oak Park Architects LLC were charged with developing a master plan for the proposed state park and have used online surveys and public meetings to collect input on the plan.
The state hired another agency, PKF Consulting USA, last year to study the economic viability of re-using the historic buildings on the site as a state park lodge.
The PFK report, released last month, found that there is “sufficient market demand in the Waterford market in general to support an operation” including a hotel.
The consultant said a privately run, 100-room hotel at Seaside could sustain an occupancy of about 60 percent at a daily rate of about $200, assuming it opened in 2020.
Officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Department of Administrative Services will present their plan at a public hearing May 25 at 6 p.m. at Waterford’s Town Hall on Rope Ferry Road.
“After considerable community input we are ready to unveil the master plan for a new state park at Seaside,” DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen said in a news release. “Our plan offers increased public access to Long Island Sound and outdoor recreation opportunities for residents and the public. It also envisions the preservation and adaptive re-use of the historic buildings on that site in a manner consistent with public access to it.”
DEEP will next conduct a detailed review of the report, and plans to complete an environmental analysis of Seaside, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection spokesman Dennis Schain said in a news release announcing the hearing.
The department will then issue a request for proposals from firms interested in building and operating a hotel, he said.
During the planning process, park staff have continued maintenance work and made security improvements to the site, as well as making the site more accessible to the public.
Public hearing on Seaside state park master plan
Who: Officials from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Department of
Administrative Services, private consultants
When: Wednesday, May 25 at 6 p.m.
Where: Waterford Town Hall auditorium, 15 Rope Ferry Road
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
