Press release just issued by Mayor Art Ward:
Mayor Arthur J. Ward announced today that an in-depth planning study of the City’s West End neighborhood has begun, under the direction of the Bristol Planning Commission and assisted by The Capstan Group and its partner the Yale Urban Design Workshop. The city recently awarded an $80,000 contract to the New Haven-based consultants to conduct this study. ”The West End has always been a vibrant factor in the history of Bristol and should retain that significance in the future,” Ward said. “The West End Neighborhood Study will seek out and identify the means for revitalization of this area.”
As part of the West End Neighborhood Study – expected to take between 12 and 15 months to complete – The Capstan Group and the Yale Urban Design Workshop will undertake extensive data collection, research and analysis of the West End; reach out to the community for its input and feedback; and work closely with the neighborhood to develop a practical, working document to guide future revitalization efforts there. Work on this study will also take into account the City’s ongoing downtown revitalization efforts, as well as activities associated with the extension of Route 72 into Bristol. The City and The Capstan Group are actively seeking West End residents, business and property owners, and community leaders to participate in this project on all levels.
Just west of downtown Bristol, the West End neighborhood encompasses a 40-block area slightly less than half a square mile in size. Park Street, Divinity Street, Gridley Street, and West Street serve as the major thoroughfares within the study area, which also contains Rockwell Park, Muzzy Field, and a portion of the Pequabuck River. In addition to a highly urbanized residential area, the neighborhood is home to several churches, an elementary school, and a number of small businesses.
In 2006, the city’s focus on the importance of the long-term stability of the West End neighborhood sharpened, and the city identified the need for a comprehensive study of the neighborhood as a critical first step in this effort. The city issued a Request for Qualifications in September 2007 and received ten proposals in response to this request. A selection committee interviewed four firms and recommended the partnership of The Capstan Group and the Yale Urban Design Workshop (YUDW) as the firms to bring the community together to develop a vision and plan for the neighborhood.
Both The Capstan Group and YUDW bring their significant experience with neighborhood planning projects to the West End study. The Capstan Group (www.cpstn.com) specializes in economic and community development, and works with municipalities, non-profit development community-based organizations, and private developers to bring economic development projects to completion. Recent and current projects include the redevelopment of 750,000 square feet of former industrial space in Science Park in New Haven; the Shartenberg Project in New Haven, a $160 million new mixed-use project with more than 400 residences in a 31-story tower; and planning processes in two Bridgeport neighborhoods to develop neighborhood revitalization zone plans.
The Yale Urban Design Workshop (www.architecture.yale.edu/UDW) is a community design center founded in 1992 and based at the Yale School of Architecture. The YUDW has worked with communities all across Connecticut, providing planning and design assistance on projects ranging from comprehensive plans and community visions to the design of public spaces, streetscapes, and individual community facilities. It has led recent community planning processes in New Britain, North Branford, Bridgeport, Old Saybrook, Bethany, Ansonia, and the Dwight neighborhood in New Haven.
For more information on the West End Neighborhood Study or to get involved, contact The Capstan Group at (203) 785-0130 or the Bristol Land Use Office at (860) 584-6225. A project website, which will be updated regularly with the latest study information, is expected to be online by March 1, 2008; it will be located at www.cpstn.com.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
15 comments:
I see he is starting to follow the Stortz example of issueing press releases on any and all topics even those to which he had zero involvement.
I see that this was started during the Stortz administration.
It is funny (not ha ha) that you mention press releases.
Stortz was criticized for not telling the people what was happening, just as Ward has been. Yet you criticize Stortz for press releases.
But when they do, and the media is the easiest and cheapest way to get information out, Stortz was, and Ward now is criticized.
I say, the more information the better.
I say level the whole west end and start from scratch...No more 3 familys in that area! Single family homes only! Boy wouldnt that be nice?
Any chance the West Bristol School Building Committee has even heard of this study? They never talked to the City Planner about the IGA site, so probably not.
Sounds great, but why is the school building project not part of the equation? Aren't all the pieces linked? A fragmented approach, at best.
Re: 9:15 & 9:39 Posts
The West Bristol School Building Committee is following the mandates of the City's Ordinances.
The Committee has no authority to discuss details with the City Planner, Public Works Director, Fire Chief, Police Chief, BDDC, Planning, Zoning or Inlands-Wetlands. Our charge is to make a decision based on site reviews and recommendations given to us by consultants hired by the BOE.
Once a site has been approved by the City Council, then the Building Committee will hire an architect (again, required by City Ordinance). The architect and the Committee will then coordinate with all of the named officials listed above (also regulated by City Ordinance).
People may not agree with the process, but the City Ordinances are quite clear and specific. The Committee is simply following the laws of the City of Bristol and the State of Connecticut. If you have issues with the laws, then speak to those that represent you on the Council and in the State Legislature.
Donald R. Soucy
West Bristol School Building Committee Member
Has Commmissar Ward issued any recent releases on the South Brist Business Party?
Don,
Your committee is not restricted from speaking to the city planner or anyone else.
I am sure that Mr. Weiner would have been more than willing to address your committee as to the possible sites.
Same for some of the others you mentioned.
If you wait until after a site is selected to have those discusssion, well, then, the horse is pretty much out of the barn at that point, isn't it?
Stop hiding behind the city ordinances and pretending that they fence you in when they don't.
Re: 12:15 Post
I don't believe that I said that we were restricted from speaking with the City Planner or other city boards. I said that the City Ordinance has a set list of items that are to be done in a specific manner.
The Consultants hired by the BOE did speak with the City Planner and other officials. The cursory findings and discussions were included in the three (3) inch thick report on all 12 sites in the city that were researched.
I will admit that these discussions were not in great detail, but they were consulted and they will be directly involved once a site is approved by the council.
To be candid, no school building committee in the past 25 years has jumped through as many hoops as this committee. It's not a complaint because I just love nightly meetings, it's simply a fact.
In addition, any person in the city could have come to the many meetings that we have held since late September to outline their thoughts and objections, including the City Planner.
Donald R. Soucy
West Bristol School Building Committee Member
What does the city planner care: he doesn't live in Bristol, does he?
The City Planner has offered to participate in meetings like these, without pay, because he actually does care about this city, but the Union stepped in and said NO WAY, they would only permit him to participate if he gets paid overtime, and the city said no.
Yet another study, yet another set of consultants. To what end? Has anyone ever reviewed the effectiveness of all the studies and money spent for consultants?
Will it become moot if the West End is selected as the site for the school?
What, no study of the need for a RR Station?
Or is that teh next step?
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