A flurry of recent development activity has accelerated plans for Bristol’s Centre Square, a centerpiece of the city’s downtown that has struggled for half a century.
This week, the city’s downtown committee discussed a proposal for a 30,000-square-foot office building to be constructed at the corner of Hope and Riverside streets on a currently vacant parcel. When approved, the plan next goes to the economic and community development committee with plans for a letter of intent to be signed by the summer.
The vote comes weeks after the city sold another Centre Square parcel to ByCarrier, a local developer who has signed a letter of intent to build three new structures with 90 market-rate apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail space. The project is in the design phase with construction set to start in spring of next year.
The upcoming projects are part of a phased rollout of a new look for the Centre Square property, a 17-acre expanse that had sat in various stages of dereliction for decades.
“We understand that a successful downtown, which Bristol has not had for a number of years, is going to be carefully constructed on a balance of day and night activities,” said Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu. “We need people living here, we need people working here, we need people coming here as a destination.”
The area’s challenges started with the flood of 1955, when the Pequabuck River jumped its banks and ravaged the once-thriving business district. A mall built on the cleared site flourished briefly in the 1960s, before declining steadily until the city demolished it in 2007, leaving empty land at the heart of the historic downtown.
Bristol Hospital was the first to build on the property, opening a 60,000-square-foot ambulatory care center at the corner of Main Street and Riverside Avenue in June 2019.
In a parcel next-door to the medical building, developers Wesley Cyr and Oliver Wilson are slated to break ground this summer on a mixed-use project called City Place, with 12 apartments and commercial space planned.
Interest in Centre Square has intensified in the last year, Zoppo-Sassu said, especially with more new projects planned for the areas around it.
ByCarrier is springboarding from its recently completed Residences on Main project, a 32-unit, high-end building that has seen high demand for rentals, Zoppo-Sassu said.
Other ongoing improvements include the restoration of a historic theater as part of the new Memorial Boulevard Intradistrict Arts Magnet School and a continuation of the city’s streetscaping and infrastructure improvements in the area, an investment of nearly $4 million so far.
D’Amato Construction also intends to relocate its headquarters into the renovated Barnes building at Main and South streets, and plans are underway for a “green” at Centre Square for gatherings, farmers markets and outdoor performances.
It’s all part of a larger plan to bring life back to the area in sustainable stages, said Justin Malley, executive director of Bristol’s Economic & Community Development department.
“We are trying to develop downtown in a smart way and in a phased way,” Malley said. “It’s really a partnership. It’s clear that we have a vision, but the developers are working to meet that vision.”
