1995: Dubose Associates, architects for the college, prepare reports recommending both the Mohegan campus and the Norwich Hospital site for a new campus.

1997: Gov. John G. Rowland states support for putting the college at the Norwich Hospital site.

1999: Spaulding and Slye Colliers, a Boston-based marketing firm, begins determining the best use for the Hospital site. The Norwich Community Development Corp. submits an $88.9 million plan to consolidate the campus on Chestnut Street.

November 2000: Spaulding and Slye unveils a plan that would include a 40-acre Three Rivers Community College campus, a corporate office park, a residential area and public marina. Norwich officials immediately oppose the move, saying the city could lose up to $200,000 in state aid if the college leaves.

December 2000: Shortly after Spaulding and Slye make a presentation on the Preston site, Norwich businessman Ron Aliano proposes a harbor location for the campus in an executive session with City Council. Council later names him preferred developer of a downtown college, citing possible economic spin-offs for the area.

December 2001: The Budget and Facilities Committee of the board of trustees for the State Community-Technical Colleges votes to recommend consolidation on New London Turnpike (the "Thames Valley" site), saying a downtown college would cost $20 million over budget and was too small a site to meet the college's requirements. Trustees approve the plan pending environmental and traffic studies.

January 2002: Mayor Arthur Lathrop meets with Rowland on a possible Chestnut Street location for the campus.

May 2002: The state Office of Policy and Management releases a report calling Mahan Drive the best place to consolidate the campus, saying the site could accommodate growth and impact fewer residential neighbors than the Thames Valley location. The $72.2 million cost estimate is almost $10 million more than the $62 million bonded for the consolidation in the mid-90s.

June 2002: Rowland calls the downtown campus "history" and urges parties to work toward a solution for Mahan Drive.

September 2002: Three hundred people show up at Park Congregational Church to protest the consolidation at Mahan Drive, citing traffic and flooding issues at the location.

October 2002: Rowland tells a Norwich Bulletin editorial board meeting he would support a downtown campus if the community supports it and the campus is cost-effective. The governor's office later says Rowland was misquoted and reaffirms his support of the Mahan Drive location.

July 2003: City Council passes a resolution opposing the consolidation of the campus at Mahan Drive, saying it wants to work with the governor to find a better location. Rowland threatens to move the campus outside Norwich, and Three Rivers president Grace Jones says she will ask the governor to approve a plan to take the campus elsewhere.

Sources: The Bulletin; Three Rivers Community College