Developers review library floor plan
By Robert Cloud
City Administrator Lou Leone updated New London’s Economic Development Committee about the riverfront project at its Jan. 28 meeting.
Leone noted the project had been put on a temporary hiatus in November due to several unforeseen setbacks.
“When you have an admin that retired, then passed away, and a developer who had health issues prior to the new admin coming in, things are going to get kind of messed up,” Leone said.
Leone said city staff formed a task force to review the project and address a number of issues that had been raised.
“Three weeks ago I put out a new, updated RFQ (request for quotation) and sent it to 32 individuals,” Leone said. “I already met with two of the developers. I’ve got two more who want to sit down and talk a little bit more.”
Leone said each of the developers is reviewing both the residential and library aspects of the riverfront development project.
The plan has been to construct a three-story building that will house the library on the first floor and 34 senior apartments on the top two floors at a cost estimated between $3 million and $4 million.
Leone said the new developers are “talking about taking the original floor plan and doing what’s called ‘value engineering,’ to see where they could just cut a little bit here to bring that cost down … closer to $3 million or under.”
Lowering the construction costs would help the library group raise enough funds to pay for the project, Leone said.
Developers are also looking at two more sites to bring in additional residential development, which would provide market-rate housing and eventually a tax base to help pay for the project.
Ald. Fred Zaug asked about the issue of the project being located within a flood plain.
Leone said about two-thirds of the 5.7-acre site nearest the river would have to be raised about 2 1/2 feet to bring the building above the flood plain.
Because it is on a flood plain, there can be no underground parking at the site as planned earlier.