Norwich – The Norwich Community Development Corp. has spent more than $1.2 million on planning, engineering and purchase options for the 384 acres proposed for a second business park in Occum.

It plans to continue that work while marketing pieces of the land for development.

NCDC has a planning and development budget totaling $1.55 million, funded entirely by city and Norwich Public Utilities allocations over the past few years, to create a business park on the 17 parcels in the northern part of the city. With just over $230,000 of that money remaining, the agency is in line to receive a $500,000 state Urban Act grant to continue design work, NCDC officials said Friday.

NCDC also has applied for $15.9 million federal U.S. Department of Transportation grant to develop the proposed 7,000-foot-long road and utility infrastructure and applied for state funding through the Community Investment Fund.

NCDC requested $19 million for the entire cost of the road from the Community Investment Fund, or an alternative of $11 million for a 2,900-foot segment from Canterbury Turnpike into prime development land that borders Interstate 395.

The Day filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the funding spent so far to develop the proposed Business Park North. Agency leaders provided a list of 16 engineering, real estate and legal firms contracted for portions of the work, but withheld specific billing and contractual data, citing exemptions in the state FOI law for proprietary contractors’ financial information and business plans.

NCDC attorney Mark Block said NCDC is developing the business park under its status as a private corporation working as the city’s economic development agency. NCDC staff have been paid “less than 1%” of the $1.5 million for its administration of the project, NCDC President Kevin Brown said.

NCDC has received two allocations from the city for the project, $740,000 in September 2021 to design the proposed access road off Exit 18 of Interstate 395, and another $207,846 for road design work in a portion of a city road construction bond.

Norwich Public Utilities provided a $45,000 allocation for design work and funded purchase options totaling $575,000 to secure the land from previous owners M&A Holdings LLC and Byron Brook Country Club LLC. The option money covered part of the $3.55 million purchase price.

NCDC secured a mortgage for $3.1 from Braavos Lending LLC of Rocky Hill. The mortgage is only for two years, with full principal and 10% interest due Jan. 31, 2025.

Block said NCDC could pay the entire amount, seek extensions or if individual parcels are sold, seek agreements with the lender to pay off a portion of the mortgage to release any parcel sold. If NCDC cannot pay the mortgage, Braavos could take ownership and seek to develop the property itself, Brown said.

The business park project hit a snag Feb. 21, when the City Council rejected a proposed Business Master Plan District zone for the property, but design and marketing is continuing for the land already zoned for commercial or planned development.

Brown said the council vote did not slow interest from firms interested in the business park property, and he has a goal of having at least the first development parcel committed to a specific project by December 2024. One day after the council vote, he said he spoke with a representative from one interested company.

NCDC’s federal and state grant applications included letters of interest about a half dozen “potential candidates” for the proposed business park. Brown described the manufacturers as a lithium titanate battery mill, composite plastic rail tie creation and high-strength fasteners for the offshore wind industry. He said all the firms are not currently operating in Connecticut but are looking to bring their supplies closer to the industries they serve.

“This is all super preliminary, but the point is all these folks are very interested,” Brown said. “None of these are binding commitments, but all of them are developing before we even have effectively been marketing the property.”

c.bessette@theday.com