Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced on Tuesday plans to turn a 32-acre property in Waterford into Connecticut’s first shoreline state park in more than 50 years, rejecting a developer’s plan for the site.
Developer Mark Steiner had a contract with the Department of Administrative Services for his plans to put a hotel on the property known as Seaside, along with other commercial and residential development. The Waterford Planning and Zoning Commission rejected Steiner’s plans for the property.
Malloy said the Department of Administrative Services will terminate its contract with Steiner, which was put in place in 2010 before Malloy took office.
Malloy has ordered DAS, the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, and the Office of Policy & Management to review by Jan. 1 what the costs will be in preserving any historically significant property, removing what cannot be saved, and designing and building new facilities for a park on Long Island Sound.
The Connecticut State Park System currently consists of 107 properties representing 32,000 acres. Those include four Long Island Sound parks with guarded swim areas and another seven on the shoreline.
