A recently installed road off Main Street on Route 66 in Hebron has been dubbed the “Road to Nowhere” by some townspeople.
But to Bonnie Therrien, Hebron’s town manager, the road represents the first step in a far-reaching 140-acre economic development project that ultimately aims to transform the rural, bucolic town of about 9,000, by doubling the size of its business district.
In the works for more than a decade, the Village Green District has been stalled by a drawn-out state and local regulatory approval process. But with the recently constructed 1,100-foot access road, the town is finally ready to move forward with the first phase of the mixed-use development and is looking for a developer and financing to make it a reality.
The Village Green District represents one of the few transformative economic development projects in the state that is actually moving forward despite an uncertain economy.
“The goal is to establish an attractive residential and commercial village setting, while maintaining the rural makeup of the town,” said Therrien, who took over as town manager in April and has become the chief marketing officer of the project. “The infrastructures are all in place now, so it can actually become a reality.”
The Hebron Village Green District is a public-private partnership between the town and the landowners, the Horton Brothers LLC. The 140-acre parcel is located with frontage on Main Street, Church Street and Kinney Road.
Phase I of the development includes a 2,100-foot boulevard extending from Main Street past a market square and about 200,000 square feet of office and retail space. There will also be 7,500 square feet for a restaurant and space for a grocery market, fitness center, and 49-unit apartment complex.
Phase II calls for adult living condo units, apartments for the elderly, single-family homes, and office and light industrial space.
Town planner Michael K. O’Leary said Hebron is heavily residential and needs to become more diversified. Strengthening the tax base is a priority so that proper services can be provided.
Beyond a New England style Main Street that is sprinkled with mom-and-pop shops, a Subway, and a recently opened Xtra Mart, the town is lacking basic business services including retail, restaurant and medical amenities, O’Leary said.
“I’m hoping it’s a good time to try to bring some mixed-use development to the area because I think there is a real need,” he said. “People have to drive everywhere to get things. This project will help increase the tax base and allow people to do shopping locally.”
A 2004 study projected that businesses in the complex will generate $1.1 million annually in taxes, and lead to a net revenue gain for the town of $520,000 per year.
The land is owned by the Horton Brothers, three retired teachers, whose family have had long ties to the state and town of Hebron. Over the years, the brothers, who are all in their 60s, leased out the property to local corn farmers. The town approached them in the late ‘90’s about a public-private partnership to develop the 140 acres into a mixed-use development, and they eventually came on board.
Jim Celio, a real estate agent who is also managing Horton Brothers LLC, the business entity formed by the three brothers, said they had the opportunity to turn the property into a residential development during the real estate boom, but decided to do what was best for the town’s long-term economic growth.
“They wanted to establish something that guided the future prosperity of the town,” he said.
Celio said the project has taken a long time to get to the development stage because state and local regulatory and zoning issues have held it up.
The last requirement that will allow phase I to move forward is the installation of a traffic light in front of the new roadway off Main Street. The town is putting up the money — about $150,000 — but eventually will get repaid through a special services district tax that will be assessed on business that settle in the area.
Celio said the Horton Brothers and the town have taken the project as far as they can, which is why they are looking for an outside developer to take over the reins.
Of course, Hebron’s development represents broader challenges that many of Connecticut’s small, rural town’s face.
With the state facing billion-dollar budget deficits that could threaten municipal aid, many communities are looking for ways to expand their tax base. But satisfying that need by developing open space is never easy.
About 80 percent of Connecticut towns have 30,000 or fewer residents, which classifies them as rural communities.
“The prevailing attitude on the part of many residents in small towns is that they want to keep everything exactly as it is,” said Craig Stevenson, chairman of the Connecticut Rural Development Council. “But what a lot of people don’t realize is that without business development, you can’t maintain that quality of life. Towns need to find ways to diversify their revenue sources.”
Hebron residents share many of those open space values. In a recent survey conducted by the town, residents said they want 41 percent of the region to be open space by 2012. It has 27 percent open space now.
Therrien said location is the key for a development like this, especially when you have a town that feels strongly about maintaining its rural character.
“The main guiding principle is that it should be a New England village center around a town green,” Therrien said. “The uses inside the buildings are much less important than the appearance. Everybody is going to watch for that big box Wal-Mart, but that isn’t the idea of this project.”
Therrien said the town is looking for smaller, national chains to fill the retail section, as well area hospitals to open neighborhood doctors’ offices and testing facilities.
Stevenson said financing is incredibly difficult right now, and many developers remain reluctant.
But Stevenson said Hebron has a good mix of wealth, size and location that could make a major development like this work.
“I think they are going to be the exception rather than the rule in terms of success,” Stevenson said. “I think they will do quite well.”
