Developers come to see Bristol

Reporter Jackie Majerus filed these stories about Monday's razzle-dazzle effort to showcase the mall property and Bristol:

New Haven architects who showed up for the city's overview session and tour of the rubble-filled mall site said they came away impressed with the enthusiasm of Bristol's leaders.
"It's an exciting project," said George Buchanan, who said he will be teaming up with other architects and New York developer Ben Zitron to produce a proposal for the 17-acre, city-owned mall property.
Buchanan said there isn't anything that brings downtown together.
"The downtown of Bristol should really become a destination," said Buchanan, "so people will want to live here, play here, eat here and work."
Buchanan said he thinks it can happen. He said he's been looking at the project for years, having spoken with former city officials when the project had a different shape.
"We've been here a couple times," said Buchanan, who said "a great deal" has been done on the project since he was first involved.
Edward Mitchell, an architect who is working with Buchanan, said "the kind of enthusiasm of the people who run the town" is a bonus in a project like this.
They said the tour was a plus.
"It's important to see the layout of the whole town," said Mitchell.
Both Mitchell and Buchanan said they liked how all the city officials seemed to be working together and excited about the prospects for the property.
Buchanan said he was impressed by the re-use of the former General Motors plant on Chippens Hill.
"The economic development really looks very, very strong," said Buchanan, "more than the other towns we've seen."
The five firms that checked in at the meeting Monday – there may have been others represented that didn't register – came from as close as Cheshire and as far away as California: ORIS Inc. of Cheshire, Buchanan Architects of New Haven, Breslin Realty Development of Garden City, N.Y., The Community Builders of Springfield, Mass., and Cielo Group of Glendale, Calif.

Taking the bus to show off Bristol
City leaders made their case to potential developers of the downtown mall property Monday, reviewing the project and taking the visitors on a tour around town.
Frank Johnson, chairman of the Bristol Downtown Development Corp., acted as tour guide as a handful of prospective developers, city officials and a few others went riding around on the Datco bus.
Johnson said he wanted to show off "a number of things that no other municipality in the country can claim."
As the bus rumbled though the dreary drizzle, Johnson and other officials on the bus pointed out a number of businesses, city buildings and landmarks.
In the downtown area, that included the nearly empty Bristol Armory and the empty lot that once was the site of the historic Mamatseos building on North Street.
"We were told it couldn't be saved," Johnson said, adding that the lot was for sale.
After leaving downtown, the bus headed for Chippens Hill to show off the neighborhoods and the former General Motors factory that is now a business park. The former Roberts property got a mention, but the Chippens Hill Middle School did not.
From there, the tour took riders along Route 6, from Burlington Avenue to Tunxis Community College in Farmington, with Johnson bragging about the new development all along the corridor and the recent upgrades at the various shopping centers.
"Route 6 has developed as the retail strip within the city," said Dick Harrall, executive director of the BDDC. "There's probably nothing that isn't here."
Though Johnson noted the presence of Lake Compounce and the Giamatti Little League complex, the bus didn't pass either attraction.
Riders did get to see and hear about the Clarion, the city's only hotel, the Otis Elevator testing tower, the Covanta incinerator, Theis Precision Steel, the site of the future industrial park on Middle Street and construction on the Route 72 project – and heard about how the highway has been in the works for about 40 years.
The bus also drove past ESPN, as Johnson sung the praises of the city's largest taxpayer and employer.
Johnson said there had been hopes in the past that ESPN would be part of the city's downtown redevelopment, but that it didn't work out.
"The local expectations didn't match what the corporate willingness was," said Johnson. But he urged developers to "look into" the possibility of working with ESPN on something.
The bus did not pass the newly expanded Bristol Public Library, any of the city's high schools, the New England Carousel Museum or the Bristol Historical Society. The only park that was pointed out was Stocks Playground on Middle Street.
Before heading back to City Hall, the tour took a spin through Federal Hill and Johnson pointed out Bristol Hospital and the American Clock and Watch Museum.
Johnson, who had been offering tidbits of local history throughout the tour, said the clock museum was a natural for town that had made so many timepieces.
"If you have any interest in horology, this is the city for you," said Johnson. Then he cracked, "Not the Elliot Spitzer [kind.] This is the kind related to clocks."
The tour lasted about an hour and started with the mall property itself, which the BDDC has christened "Depot Square."
City Purchasing Agent Roger Rousseau said there is a crushing operation now active on the site that will take care of some of the rubble. As the demolition is completed, Rousseau said the city will move the fence to make more of the parking lot available again for "farmers markets and the like."
Pointing out the remaining streetscape on Main Street across from the mall site, Johnson said, "That's the scale and mass we're looking for."
Johnson said the city wants to replicate the new streetscape from North Main Street onto Main Street.
The old Sherwin Williams Paints store is part of the parcel and will be torn down, said Johnson.
He said the McDonalds Restaurant and Dunkin' Donuts on opposite ends of the property are privately owned. The owners and the corporations have said they want to remain on the site, said Johnson, but are open to building modern new restaurants.
The Bristol Discount Food Outlet, said Johnson, can be empty with just a 90-day notice. He said a downtown grocery store is desirable, but said the city can't expect anyone to match "anywhere near" the $5 per square foot that the discount store is paying for rent.
Though Johnson said that the discount Aldi chain has a presence in some downtown developments, he said, "We certainly would be receptive to a more upscale store."
At City Hall before the tour, officials spoke about the mall site's past and about the vision for the future.
"The city's been thinking about this site and the downtown for quite awhile," said Harrall.
Harrall said Bristol and the surrounding towns offer "a lot of population" and "a lot of spending power."
Johnson said Bristol is "really a nucleus" of activity for the area. He said he hopes that "downtown Bristol will become a destination location."
Johnson and Harrall said they've been listening to what residents, business owners and city officials have had to say about the parcel.
"We all understand what the people in the community want," said Johnson.
BDDC board member John Lodovico told developers that the mall site is "a diamond in the rough."
"It's a very, very exciting time for Bristol," said Lodovico.
Mayor Art Ward said many of Bristol's leaders remember when the mall went up four decades ago.
Officials at the time, said Ward, "thought what they were doing was a positive step."
Ward cautioned the prospective developers in the room, "Once you start, you have to know where you're going."
Rousseau, whose office is handling the bidding process for the BDDC, said the deadline for submissions is 3 p.m. on May 30.
"We will have a selection," said Rousseau, "by July."

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com