Voters pass referendum to construct new Southington Public Library

BRIAN M. JOHNSON

SOUTHINGTON – The referendum to construct a new Southington Public Library passed Tuesday night. The town is now authorized to appropriate $16,900,000 for a new building at 255 Main St.

Southington Public Library Director Kristi Sadowski said she is “very excited” by the results of the referendum. She said 61.5% voted in favor of the ordinance to appropriate the money for the construction of a new library building and the demolition of the existing building. In total, 6,896 voters supported the referendum and 4,324 voted against it.

“It was wonderful and so heartwarming to see the outpouring of support and to know that, in a couple of years, we’ll have a building that can offer the services that the community deserves and that we want to provide,” she said.

Sadowski said the next step is for the new Town Council to appoint a building committee to work with the architects, Tappe Architects, in moving the project forward.

Leading up to the election, a “Vote Yes for a New Southington Public Library” political action committee was formed to educate residents about the project. This group outlined several priorities that will be featured with the new library.

The new library building would include a larger children’s area, more meeting rooms and quiet study areas and it would bring the space up to modern building codes for accessibility. It will also have more efficient electrical and HVAC systems.

There will be expanded space for children and teens, with more space for parents to sit, and shelving that is more accessible for children.

The proposal also includes meeting and workspaces for individuals and groups with more acoustic separation from children’s spaces. In addition, meeting spaces will be designed so that they are located right off of main entrance, along with bathrooms. This way, if there is a program during off-hours, library staff could close off and lock the main library.

There will also be a new parking lot with a centralized entrance.

The square footage of the current library is 25,000. The new library building will be 36,800-square-feet.

New Griswold Senior Center construction back on track after going over budget

Matt Grahn

GRISWOLD — After a great deal of discussion, changes, and waiting on grant funds, work has started again on the new Griswold Senior Community Wellness Center.

The building, located behind McCluggage Manor, will be finished in 12 weeks, officials said.

“I think we’re on the right track and we’ll get it completed,” Griswold Selectman Todd Babbitt said.

Tina Falck, the senior center and social services director for Griswold, said there’s still a lot of coordination involved with getting the project done, between supply deliveries and the contractors, “to put the last remaining pieces of the puzzle together.”

“It’s not like the flooring is just going to show up tomorrow; there needs to be strategic planning,” Falck said.

Griswold initially bonded $7.5 million in 2019 to pay for the new building. Board of Finance members first discovered the project had gone about $1.5 million over budget in January 2021.

More:New Griswold senior center vastly over budget as town searches for funding

After some changes were made, including moving some work to a later date, Griswold Finance Director Erik Christensen said the cost was cut to $760,000. Babbitt said the reduction was focused on getting what the building needed for a certificate of occupancy. The town voted at a May referendum to continue the project.

To pay for the project, the town received $411,800 in grant funds from the USDA in July, already applied for by the Griswold Senior Center Building Committee before an appropriation was requested from the Board of Finance. Then, the Board of Finance approved an additional $214,355 for the project. That money went towards a generator and other aspects that were left off the original request.

Christensen said the project nets out to being over budget by $562,555, which the town expects to recoup through state bonding. With the help of State Senator Heather Somers and State Rep. Brian Lanoue, $1.2 million in municipal bonding was approved in the proposed state budget. They’ve been trying to get it on the state bonding commission’s agenda for some time, but those meetings have been canceled frequently as of late.

Babbitt said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz told him the issue would be on the January bond agenda. Christensen said that the Griswold Board of Finance already approved the remaining funds needed to finish the project.

“Worst case scenario, it looks like we’re going to use $562,555 of that $760,000, so we’re not even using the full (amount),” Christensen said

Falck said the matter was never meant to be a political issue, and that with the town’s aging population, upgrading from the current facilities would be an investment that lasts at least 30 years, if not longer. As the town has limited space in the existing senior center, groups for playing cards and pool may have to share the space with the line dancing group, or a foot care clinic would be in the same room as the art class.

“We have a younger population of seniors that is growing,” Falck said, expecting a 58% increase in the town’s senior population by 2040.

The new Senior Community Wellness Center will feature a medical room, a larger café space, a conference room for the town’s social services functions, a library with a computer center, and enough space for physical activities like yoga.

“It will be much more professional in terms of privacy,” Falck said. “The services will be much broader.”

Looking ahead, Christensen said there needs to be better communication among different parts of the town.

“Everything got worked out, which was the most important thing,” Christensen said.

Farmington Marriott hotel slated for apartment conversion sold for $21.5M

Greg Bordonaro

The former Hartford Marriott Farmington hotel, which received town approval this summer to be converted into an apartment project, has sold for $21.5 million and is now under new ownership, town records show. 

The  381-room hotel at 15 Farm Springs Road, which closed earlier this year, sold Oct. 7, property records show. 

The seller was CLP Farmington LLC, which is controlled by Robert Schlesinger of Freeport, New York, state records show.  Jason Schlesinger, who is also an owner of CLP Farmington LLC, was the developer who said in July that construction would begin in late summer to convert the hotel into 225 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury apartments. 

The buyer was GF8 Farm Springs LLC, which is controlled by Yechezkel Landau of Lakewood, New Jersey, state records show. 

It’s not clear what the sale means for the apartment conversion project. Jason Schlesinger didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. 

Farmington Town Planner Shannon Rutherford said she had not spoken to the new owners and has no further information about the project. 

In July, after receiving a zoning change and site plan approval, Jason Schlesinger told HBJ that he planned to start the conversion of the former Marriott hotel into a mixed-used apartment complex later this summer.

“We’re excited to meet a growing need in Farmington and throughout the area and develop a new multifamily community with robust amenities, convenience and luxury,” Schlesinger said in July. “We look forward to creating a vibrant live, work, play community and becoming one of the premier multifamily communities in the Greater Hartford area.”

CLP Farmington acquired the hotel in June for $10.5 million, town records show.