The Budget and Facilities Committee of the board of trustees for the state Community-Technical Colleges voted unanimously Friday to recommend consolidating the Thames Valley and Mohegan campuses on New London Turnpike, a project that would cost $60.8 million.

It would take 3Þ years to build and be done in three phases.

"When you look at New London Turnpike, it pops out as the best choice for the amount of money we have, but most importantly to finally bring closure to this lengthy discussion," trustees Chairman and committee member Lawrence Zollo said.

The committee's recommendation dealt a blow to the Chelsea Community Development Group's plan to consolidate the campus along Norwich Harbor.

Chief Engineer Bruce Bockstael, with the state Department of Public Works, gave a 45-minute critique of a proposal to consolidate the college along the harbor, citing many problems.

Bockstael described the downtown plan in a letter to the trustees as an "elevated island, lifeless at its base and ringed by traffic."

He said the plan was not efficient because of the location constraints, which did not allow it to meet the expectations of the program.

"I'm an advocate for trying to make a project happen that would benefit the college and the community, but there is an awful lot of problems that have not been resolved," Bockstael said.

He said the project could cost $20 million more than the developers expected and questioned the lack of open space on the site, adequacy of the parking and whether it was too small of a site to meet the college's requirements.

The Chelsea Community Development Group began drafting its plan that includes developing the block between Chelsea Harbor Drive and Water Street last year. In October it submitted two versions of the proposal -- one within the $62 million state budget limit and the second "more complete plan" for $111 million -- for consideration.

Ron Aliano, lead developer of the group, expressed grave disappointment at the subcommittee's decision and said he would "set the record straight" presenting his proposal "accurately" at the full board of trustees meeting Dec. 17 in Hartford.

"The report was given today by an individual with the DPW who we have never been afforded the opportunity to meet with and who never asked us any questions regarding our proposal," Aliano said.

"He indicated that most of our presentation was conjecture and that there were unanswered questions, but we sat in the room while the board listened to his report and no one had the integrity to ask us for the answers," Aliano said.

Aliano, Mayor Arthur Lathrop, City Manager William Tallman and members of the development group met earlier in the day with DPW Commissioner Ted Anson to discuss the downtown proposal, but declined to comment on the discussion.

The proposal to move the entire college to the Thames Valley site and the idea to swap properties with the Norwich Regional Technical High School and the college's Mahan Drive site was made public for the first time during the meeting.

DuBose Associates, the consulting firm hired by the state to review three of the for consolidation proposals, made the presentation and quickly reviewed the three original proposals to the committee.

The others included expanding the Mohegan campus on Mahan Drive for $70.4 million, creating a new campus in Preston at routes 12 and 2A for roughly $80 million or just working on the Thames Valley site, without using the high school property, for $61.5 million.

The first two are considered too expensive and the third is part of the revised plan that the committee reviewed, which includes linking the existing college and high school buildings with a new structure, creating a landscaped quadrangle in the center and parking along the rear of the site.

The existing buildings will be renovated, including electrical infrastructure. New space would be created for a library, gallery, food service program area, cafeteria, multipurpose room, classroom space and faculty offices.

"We wanted to create a dignified setting that is identifiable as an institution of higher education," DuBose President Craig Saunders said.

DuBose Architect Marco Tommasini detailed the new 331,000-square-foot campus, explaining there was ample open space, a child-care center and room to expand in the future.

Chancellor of the community college system Marc Herzog said the technical high school was "very enthusiastic" about swapping buildings and relocating to Mahan Drive. Herzog said the move would allow the high school to implement its full educational master plan.

Cannon said he would not support the New London Turnpike plan unless there was a means to alleviate some of the potential increased traffic to the site.

Public works representatives told Cannon it might be possible to build a road from Route 32 through the state-owned Uncas-on-Thames campus to connect with the rear of the college campus.

Lathrop said the city will take up Anson's suggestion to present the plan to the full trustees. He would not comment on the subcommittee's decision.

State Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, said she is pleased the college appears to be remaining in Norwich, but that in fairness, Aliano must be given the opportunity to present his plan himself.