Connecticut is casting for a private partner to transform the former Sunrise Resort in East Haddam it now operates as a 143-acre state park into a regional tourism destination.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the park’s steward, seeks bid proposals from developers to redevelop, manage, and operate the Sunrise State Park.Â
Deputy DEEP Commissioner Susan Frechette says the agency will work with the winning developer to create a destination location for the Connecticut State Park system offering public access, recreation, and economic opportunity to the state and the nearby communities.
Sunrise Restort opened in 1916 as Elm Camp. Seventy years later, the Robert Johnson family took ownership and managed it until 2008. DEEP bought the property in January 2009 for $3.2 million.
Among the requirements its co-partner must achieve is an economic benefit to the state and to the region, and using sustainable, energy efficient building practices.
DEEP also wants to see ideas for new recreation and education facilities; accommodations for camping, recreational vehicles and cabins, food-service and small-scale retail.
Unwanted, it says, are permanent or long-term residential uses; industrial or manufacturing uses; cell towers; and adult entertainment venues.
For more information, www.ct.gov/DEEP/Sunrise. Proposals are due no later than 4 p.m. March 16, 2012.
