Groton — The manager of the Groton Shopping Plaza said he has asked town planners about tax increment financing and other potential incentives to create a mixed-use development there.

Chris Regan, whose family has owned the plaza since it was built in 1952, said he believes a mixed-use development — which combines housing, office and retail space — would be ideal for downtown Groton.

But it would require significant investment, he said.

“Millennials want mixed use,” he said. “They want to be near mass transit. They don’t want to be using cars. They want to live in a downtown environment, a city environment.”

Most such developments are done using tax increment financing, he said.

Tax increment financing lets communities offer financial help to get development projects started.

In Connecticut, a law which took effect in 2015 lets municipalities create “tax increment financing districts” and offer assistance in those areas.

The law permits cities and towns to issue general obligation bonds, effectively allowing them to borrow money to help developers pay for improvements.

The municipality would then repay the loan using a portion of the added tax revenue that comes in as the project is built.

"You have to give something to get something," said Karin Lawrence, senior vice president of Connecticut Innovations, a quasi-public agency that provides financing to the state's growing companies.

"You're not going to do something unless the town or state comes out ahead," Lawrence said, "but you do what you can, to get someone to build in your state or your municipality versus another."

If one town doesn't act, another probably will, she said.

Municipalities can choose not to invest, but they may pay for it in other ways, she added.

"The place will still be a dump forevermore and still go downhill," she said. "People will just drive a few more miles and into another town. That means no tax revenues for the town, a hole in your budget and down you go. It's not pretty, and it's happening all over."

Jonathan Reiner, director of planning and development services in Groton, said his office is looking into tax increment financing and plans to discuss it this summer with the Town Council.

Staff would speak to the council first about the recent market analysis of Groton, Reiner said. 

Then they would follow up with a discussion of tax increment financing, including how it works, where it might be used and its costs and benefits, he said.

"This is something we're just starting to dig into," Reiner said. "We're not experts on it yet, but it's certainly something we want to contemplate and share."

Groton would have to set the boundaries of a tax increment financing district, create a master plan for it and do a financial analysis, he said.

Regan’s family owns about 24 acres at the shopping plaza site, one of Groton’s major downtown strip malls mentioned in the market analysis by New York-based consultant Camoin Associates.

Regan has an additional 4.4 acres adjacent to the mall property.

The report recommended that Groton turn its strip malls into walkable developments that combine retail and living space and improve the town’s “quality of place” to attract employers.

Nearly 80 percent of Groton’s workforce commutes from outside town and doesn't support local businesses, the report said.

The advice is not new.

The Groton Strategic Economic Development Plan, prepared in July 2006 by three consultants, suggested redeveloping downtown into a “vibrant and pedestrian-friendly mixed-use center accommodating new residences and offices in addition to retail.”

“Downtown Groton suffers from a location no longer central to the region’s population, an aging stock of buildings no longer suitable for modern retail tenants, and an out-of-date image and appearance. Significant investments, beyond landscaping, will be necessary to improve the performance of the area,” that report said.

It recommended improved crosswalks, sidewalks and landscaping along Route 1. 

Consultants also commented on Groton's reliance on its three major employers and a need to diversify the local economy.

As far back as 1985, economic development plans have recommended that Groton improve the appearance of “gateways” to town, including Route 1.

Regan said an Amtrak train stop also would be crucial to future downtown development.

He believes Groton could make a compelling case for this given the expansion of Electric Boat and thousands commuting into town to work.

Three large apartment complexes near downtown — The Ledges, La Triumphe and Country Glen Apartments — also could be cited to draw retailers to the market, he said.

Roads and sidewalks would need improvement and “beautification” to make them more attractive, which would require a sizeable investment, Regan said.

“I don’t want to see another 30 years go by without that development happening,” he said.

d.straszheim@theday.com