Saturday, May 4, 2002
By MEGAN BARD
Norwich Bulletin
Although Gov. John G.
Rowland expressed a particular interest in consolidating Three Rivers Community
College in the former velvet and rifle mills on Chestnut and Franklin streets,
the site was considered to have "low potential" in a report released
Thursday by the state.
The Office of Policy and Management's
analysis of a dozen sites suggested in the past seven years concluded that the
location best suited for the college's consolidation is at one of its existing
campuses; preferably the Mohegan Campus on Mahan Drive.
Rowland spokesman Christopher Cooper said
Friday the governor did hope initially that consolidating the college in downtown
would be viable "bringing critical mass to the downtown."
"It's been a formula that has worked
well in other cities, like Bridgeport, Waterbury, and it will be great in
Hartford. But the bottom line is, this case is exactly that, the bottom line,"
Cooper said. "It just won't work in terms of the dollars."
The development group that proposed two
other locations for the college to consolidate along Norwich Harbor -- one plan
with a $111 million cost and the other sticking to the original $62 million
state requirement -- said the OPM report was based on faulty information about
the project. The developer, Ron Aliano, will meet with Dean Pagani, the
governor's chief of staff, soon, to discuss the issue.
The $62 million proposal by the Chelsea
Community Development Group would consolidate the college between Chelsea
Harbor Drive and Water Street. But OPM said, based on its review of other
reports and studies, there was no room for expansion and the need to lease
27,000 square feet from the yet-to-be-constructed Mercantile Exchange at
Chelsea Harbor led to further questions.
The $111 million proposal was considered as
having low potential because of its cost and it was too physically spread out;
the plan included the above proposal, as well as buildings on Hollyhock Island.
The Chestnut Street location originally was
slated to cost $89 million. The OPM report questioned that figure, saying the
cost was hypothetical because it was "not based on actual buildings or
site plans." The report said the cost was expected to be higher because
several buildings that would be renovated were eligible for the National
Historic Register.
But the two sites that OPM said had the
highest potential also exceed the $62 million bonded for the construction in
the mid-1990s -- the Mohegan Campus ($72.2 million) and the Thames Valley
Campus, including buildings used by Norwich Tech, ($71.3 million).
Cooper said no decision has not been made
about how to make up the nearly $10 million gap in funding. "It is
something that will be looked at when a final location decision is made,"
he said. "All costs will need to be reviewed."
Mary Ann Cox, spokeswoman for the community
colleges chancellor's office, said the environmental studies being done on the
Thames Valley Campus were suspended pending the outcome of the OPM report.
She said the trustees' December 2001 vote
was to recommend that the New London Turnpike location be evaluated further as
the possible consolidation site, but a final decision was never made.
Report expected
Cox said trustees would receive the document
and a report on it from its Budget and Facilities Committee, which meets May 13
to discuss the issue. It is possible the board will make a decision on where
the college will consolidate, at its May 20 meeting.
The 18-page study released Thursday gives a
breakdown of the OPM review of six separate studies, and three separate reports
on those studies, and divides the information into three parts: high, medium
and low potential.
Consolidating the college on the Mohegan
Campus and what was referred to as Thames Valley II -- which includes the
Thames Valley Campus and the buildings belonging to the neighboring high school
-- were the two ideas with highest potential.
The $62 million plan to relocate the college
in downtown Norwich between Water Street and Chelsea Harbor Drive and a
proposal to incorporate the Kettle, Lodge and Ribicoff buildings on the former
Norwich Hospital property in Preston were considered medium-potential sites.
Remaining steps
The remaining eight sites were considered to
have low potential. They include:
An expanded $111 million version of the
Norwich Harbor and Hollyhock Island consolidation plan.
Renovating the JB Martin Mill on Chestnut
Street.
Renovating the existing Thames Valley Campus
buildings, not including the technical school properties.
Consolidating on an unidentified site.
Four other locations on the Norwich Hospital
property.