The city’s new industrial park beside the former Superior Electric Factory is “essentially complete,” said Mike Rivers, chairman of the Bristol Development Authority’s industrial committee.
One company has already bought a lot in the Southeast Bristol Industrial Park and another is likely to buy a second soon, officials said.
The combined industrial park has about a dozen lots, ranging from a little more than an acre in size to 11 acres.
Though there have been problems along the way, from a too-early start on construction that devastated protected wetlands to misaligned roads that had to be fixed, the most serious appear to be resolved.
The city has received complaints from neighboring condominium owners who would like to see a better buffer between the industrial park and their homes.
Ray Rogozinski, an assistant city engineer, said that some are concerned about young people using ATVs on the city-owned land and cutting through the condominiums. The condo owners have suggested a fence.
But Rivers said that a fence would be costly. He said that the city has complied with the promises it made about leaving a buffer between the park and the nearby residences.
Rogozinski said that the trees and bushes have been left in the buffer area, but are “a little thin” in appearance in spots. He said the city might be able to transplant some small trees to fill in the gaps a bit.
Officials said that the problems will likely cease once there are tenants to fill the industrial park.
“Once we get tenants in there, it will be different,” Rivers said.
The city will probably close off the new industrial park road until there is a need to open it, officials said, to help limit use of the property in the meantime.
Jonathan Rosenthal, the city’s economic development director, said he will ask the police to monitor the problem and issue warnings and tickets as required.
The first tenant in the new park will be CMI Specialty Products, which makes electro-magnetic iron products, and plans to begin constructing an 11,000-square-foot headquarters at the corner of Redstone Hill Road and Business Park Drive within days.
It paid $137,475 for the lot this summer.
Rosenthal said that it “looks pretty solid” that a second company will buy a lot soon.
There is a third firm eyeing the possibility of erecting a 55,000-square-foot building on the site, Rosenthal said, but it’s not a sure thing. It’s been talking with the city for two years, Rosenthal said.
The industrial park was built in two phases, each of them nearly finished.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
32 comments:
This whole scheme was a joke (albeit a bad one).
They have one prospective buyer, a new park and a bunch of businesses leaving Bristol for Southington and Farmington.
Why?
To 7:43 pm.
You could be Plymouth - Spend over 3 million dollars and in almost 10 years have one new business. The new business doesn't pay enough in taxes to cover the snow plowing and electricity for the street lights for the three DEAD END roads of the "new" industrial park.
Ask Jonathan
name them
Jonathan has done nothing for Bristol, except collect a pay check and answers to no one! Everyone is protecting him because he's out collecting campaign money...right Franky?!! No wonder why Frank was his biggest cheerleader when it was time for his appointment!
Where's the Mayor on this? Doesn't look like he's doing much! Could it be because he's also part of the Good Old Boy's Club!!!! I also don't understand where the other councelmen are? No one speaking about this. No one asking questions! Where's the big mouth Cocaine? Why isn't he pushing for answers?
What did you expect from Ward?
And Johnson will be no different: he too is beholden to Jonathan and his friends.
name them
August 27, 2008 7:07 AM:
1) Yarde Metals
2) Raym-co
3) Connecticut Spring and Stamping
4) Superior Electric
5) General Motors
just a few that come to mind.
Great Idea ...... Let's build a brand new industrial park and then close off all access ....
Amazing ..... simply amazing
You could be Plymouth - Spend over 3 million dollars and in almost 10 years have one new business.
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You should have put it somewhere it can be reached ....
The MILES of land from National Homes to Iseles Machine would have made more sense .
Yes, one company a year and Rosenthal will retire before the Park is fully occupied.
Thanks Jonathan.
The fact that the area is attracting any new businesses in this economy is good news.
The Superior Electric complex is full and the new industrial park will most likely fill up over the next couple of years. The costs of the lots are very reasonable. It is important that whatever business goes in there will actually add to employment in Bristol and be a positive addition to the revenue equation.
As long as Rosenthal keeps raising money for his bosses he will never be gone! He can just sit and wait for retirement.
Good to see our elected officials using the Dept. Heads for the best of there ability!!
Rosenthal is the prime example of what is wrong with the Union in town. Protecting all the lackeys!
Is it true that Rosenthal is being investigated for his fund raising efforts?
He should be.
But, others might go down with him.
Nothing will come from the investigation. The incestuous situation with all of our leaders is disgusting. They all take care of each other. Rosenthal is campaigning for Nicastro and soliciting funds for him. Dale Clift is a part of his campaign staff too. In turn Nicastro appoints Clift and shoots down Krawiecki and supports Rosenthal and covers his ass everytime he does something dumb. There is so much more going on behind the scenes that it would disgust everyone and no party is clean here. A little expose would be a great piece from Collins. The unfortunate thing is that the system protects these people. It is not against the law for Rosenthal to campaign for is boss and benefactor. It may be unethical, but not illegal. Also unethical is a relative term. To me what Rosenthal did with soliciting funds and waht Nicastro did with excepting them is completely unethical, but to others it may not be. The point is that our system is broken. I don't know if a COO could fix it, but the idea that it may take some of the politics out of managing department heads is appealing. Jonathan can't raise funds for the COO and neither can anyone else b/c they won't be cmapaigning. The COO won't be obligated to protecting him, as Ward and Nicastro and others are. Ther are so many arguments that can be made either way, but to me this is one of the best points for the COO.
I welcome responses. A nice dialog w/o name calling would be great. These are serious issues and there are lots of great arguments and valid points both ways.
8:09
The question with Rosenthal is: has he violated any federal laws?
He deals heavily with federal funds, and the feds have different guidelines regarding political involvement.
Remember then Councilman Savino could not seek election because his job involved federal funds.
The city may lose out if Jonathan is in violation of federal law.
The question of whether or not Rosenthal broke an federal laws is an important one, but it is not the only one. The ethics of our leaders is in question also.
He may very well have not broken any laws, but he idea that it is okay for him to be soliciting funds for the candidate of his choice, given that he has a subordinate relationship with this candidate is completely unethical. I have heard that he was at the Rotary on his own time. That is immaterial. He is a part of the rotary as the Director of the BDA, regardless if it was his lunch hour, the weekend or after hours. The business people he was soliciting funds from know exactly who he is. By him asking for support for Frank he is taking advantage of his position. He is responsible for working with many of these people, often times giving out grant money or other city perks to them which helps their businesses. There is every reason to believe that they would feel obligated to give to any cause that Rosenthal asks them to give to, with the hopes that he will remember this when it comes time for them to ask for a favor.
The same can be said for Nicastro accepting contributions from Rosenthal. Do you think he would be campaigning for Cockaine? Definitely not, b/c Cockaine has made it abundantly clear that he has little tolerance for his blundering, while Nicastro not only supports him when he falters, but advocates for him also.
This situation is just one great example of the unethical dealings of our leaders that most voters have no idea about. I am certain there are many more examples of this with department heads and other special interest groups giving support. We all know that big bad unions do it, but at least it is in the open. They announce who they endorse. I don't know if that makes it acceptabl or not, but at least it is public knowledge made readily available.
Maybe now people will start to see why the previous mayor did not want him reappointed.
It sounds tantamount to bribery if you ask me.
Just more of the good ole boys watching their own.
Wouldn't it be great if all of our politicians stopped accepting contributions from PACs, Unions, Municipal Employees and Department heads? There would be no more question about a quid pro quo (sp?) any longer.
Ken C. refused contributions for Department Heads and Unions. HAs anyone checked his records if he adhered to this promise? Either way he seems to be the only one trying to hold people accountable. Where is he on this one?
Where is Barnes on this? He is the head of the GOP in town, why isn't he making a stink about it if it is so wrong?
Cockayne didn't have to worry about contributions from any unions or department heads. None of them were in the least bit interested in contributing to his campaign.
You will never get Ward, Nicastro, McCauley, or Rimcocki to agree to not taking contributions from the groups you listed. They all took contributions this last election and now every vote that has anything at all to do with unions they vote with them. It is more than a coincidence too!
Check to see what Kenny and Kenny got from Real Estate people.
(Can you say conveyance fee???)
That's b/c when they asked him about GASB 45 he said to transfer the funds. Then when they asked him if he was for bincing arbitration he said no, and finally he was for the COO. Ken C is for fairness and accountability and he puts the taxpayer first!
He got all those funds, all that support when he was running, BEFORE he got elected.
Ken did not even know about GASB at that time, among not knowing many other things.
And still doesn't.
Check his books. He got nothing from the Unions, except yelled at and laughed at, b/c he wouldn't play their games. None of them thought he would win, but he did and now they are stuck with him. They put their money behind the wrong horse, not that it would have mattered anyway. If it isn't obvious already, Ken is a maverick who bucks the system when he knows he is right. The good ole boys hate him b/c he sheds light on all their wrongdoings and fights for the taxpayer, not re-election.
10:08
What did he get from the Real Estate People?
Oh yeah, I saw real estate people at all the polls holding signs for him. Oh wait, that was actually all the union boys holding signs for the Dems. - McCauley and Ward.
If you are a sitting commissioner for the Bristol Police Department should you be fundraising from those very people you are supposed to oversee? I think the whole thing is very ethically challenged and needs to be investigated!!
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