The Town of Windsor Locks has received a Letter of Intent from Amtrak to
sell the historic trian station and its footprint to the Town. This is an
important step so that the Town and State of Connecticut Department of Energy
and Environmental Protection (DEEP) feel comfortable spending Small Town
Economic Assistance Program grant funds on the design of the restoration of
the historic station. The Town will be consulting with the grants administrator
for DEEP to get authorization to proceed with the design work. Crosskey
Architects of Hartford has been selected to design the restoration.
Amtrak intends to arrange for a real estate appraisal of the station. Once
the appraisal is in hand then Amtrak and the Town can negotiate the price for
the acquisition. The Town has communicated to Amtrak that it would like to
purchase the building for $1 so that any funds that are raised going to the
actually restoration. Amtrak has commenced its standard, internal engineering
and operational clearance process and its management review process. Amtrak
also intends to consult with the State of Connecticut in regards to the
station's role in the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail line
project. Once the above steps have been completed the Town and Amtrak would
enter into a Agreement of Sale setting forth the terms and conditions for the
sale and purchase of the Station.
An Historic Train Station planning committee meets regularly on the second
and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 7 p.m. to further the restoration effort.
The next meeting will take place at Windsor Locks Town Hall on August 14th. A
specially-designated account has been set up by the Town to recieve donations.
Checks can be written to the Town of Windsor Locks with Historic Train Station
Restoration Fund written in the memo section.
Closely tied to the historic station is the Town's efforts to get the train
platform relocated back into the downtown area. Now that the Environmental
Asssessment public hearing process has concluded for the New
Haven-Hartford-Springfield, the Town will be communicating with the Connecticut
Department of Transporation about the next steps in the decision-making process
relative to moving the station. ConnDOT received favorable public support for
the relocation effort during the public hearing process.
The Town has also executed a grant agreement with ConnDOT for a $250,000
Transit Oriented Development Planning Grant. The purpose of the grant is to
investigate mixed-use development in the vicinity of the historic train station
where the Town would like to see the train platform located. Fuss & O'Neill
has been hired by the Town to conduct this planning study. The scope of the
work includes the street network in the project area, developing a station-area
plan, developing zoning regulations that would encourage mixed-use development
in the area, investigating potential redevelop parcels, and a market analysis
showing that mixed-used development would be profitable to developers.
The Town is also continuing its efforts to secure back taxes on the
Montgomery complex. The Town had pursued a tax-foreclosure auction last
September but the property owner declared bankruptcy. Recently the bankruptcy
court granted a relief of stay on the foreclosure sale and we are awaiting
communication from the court about when we can begin to move forward with the
foreclosure. In the meantime, a commercial realtor is working with the owner on
trying to secure a purchaser for the property.
First Selectman Steve Wawruck stated,
"These are exciting times for the Windsor Locks community. Our planning efforts
over the last several years are beginning to have results as we are receiving
more developer interest in Main Street area." The Town has been working
diligently in securing funds for road reconstruction projects in the Main Street
area. The Town has secured funds for sidewalk replacement along Main Street.
The Town is also working with local residents in the establishment of a Farmers
Market at Dexter Plaza. We are asking local residents to get involved to help
in the historic train station restoration project and other enhancements in the
Main Street area.
