CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated Hartford Financial Services Group has a distribution center around Bradley International Airport. While the company does have a building near the airport, it is not a distribution center.
Private development in the area around Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks is scheduled for takeoff in the coming years, but state officials have to get a handle on one small problem before all the projects are put into a holding pattern.
Birds.
The fields around Bradley are the nesting and feeding grounds of two endangered species of birds: the upland sandpiper and the grasshopper sparrow. While the birds aren’t an impediment to the airport facilities, flight patterns or airport expansion plans, they do impact any private development around the airport.
That could become a problem as the Connecticut General Assembly created the Bradley Development Zone last year, which offers a 25 percent tax credit for 10 years and a 5-year, 80 percent tax abatement for development inside the area made up of East Granby, Suffield, Windsor and Windsor Locks.
Those tax incentives go into effect this year, said Patrick McMahon, Suffield director of economic and community development. Three of the four towns have signed a joint marketing agreement for the development zone, and private investment in the area is poised to increase.
All the private development to date hasn’t been impacted by the protection of the endangered birds’ habitat because developers have mitigated with alternative sites for the birds on the airport grounds. But as development takes up more and more of the birds’ habitat, they will need new homes off airport property.
“There is no more onsite mitigation, so we have to purchase land somewhere else,” said Bob Bruno, chief of engineering services for the Connecticut Department of Transportation Bureau of Aviation & Ports. “We are being proactive before it becomes an issue.”
With development ready to drastically increase in the coming years, the time is now to develop an offsite habitat for the birds, McMahon said. The north side of the airport has 145 acres primed for development, but that includes areas where the birds might be nesting.
“It is one of those things that if we don’t take care of it, it will impede development in the future,” McMahon said.
In 2006, Connecticut committed $7.7 million to purchase grassland habitats for a variety of species, including the upland sandpiper and the grasshopper sparrow. With that money and federal funds, the state Department of Environmental Protection has enough to purchase property around Bradley as an alternative for the birds, said DEP spokesman Dennis Schain.
The purchase needs to be big enough where the birds can see the habitat from the air, have enough room to nest and find food for their young, Schain said. Some species require 150 acres for their habitat.
DEP can buy the land in one large chunk or find a parcel contiguous to other grassland habitats to meet this requirement. The agency has a site in mind, Schain said, but it won’t divulge a timeline or a cost because it’s a pending real estate negotiation.
Bruno said he expects the deal to be complete by the end of the year, which is timely because the development around Bradley should increase as the incentives kick in.
“There is great potential because Bradley is the second largest airport in the region,” McMahon said.
The area around Bradley is primed for light manufacturing, distribution and airline service companies, McMahon said. Companies such as Bombardier Inc. and Hamilton Sunstrand already are located around Bradley.
Some marquee development around Bradley includes buildings for the Windsor Marketing Group, machining parts manufacturer Mazak; wheel company Tire Rack; American Wood Mouling; and a distribution center for Walgreens.
More development is poised for the area, and the birds need to be taken care of before they become a real issue, McMahon said.
Windsor Locks has a 20-acre parcel on State Route 20 with a proposed mixed use development just south of the Ramada Inn. Hamilton Sunstrand has 50 acres off State Route 20 that could be a corporate office complex.
Windsor and Windsor Locks want a commuter rail station with a bus link to Bradley. Windsor is pushing for a direct access ramp to I-91 North off of Day Hill Road. East Granby wants to extend Bradley Park Road.
Gov. Dan Malloy supports legislation to make Bradley more independent from the Department of Transportation in order to speed up hiring and route development. This would put the operational side of Bradley better in tune with the development around the airport, said Oz Griebel, CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance.
Having a better run airport primed for strong private investment will not only increase economic development in the towns immediately surrounding the facility, but in the whole state as well, Griebel said.
“Bradley is going to consistently rank in the top two or three of the most important economic assets in the state,” Griebel said. “Having that airport is critical to the economy of Connecticut.”
