Work is being carried on this winter on the two apartment buildings that include first floor retail space scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2011.
Located along Storrs Road adjacent to the university, the town hall, the regional high school, and the community center, Storrs Center will include a new town square across from the School of Fine Arts complex.
The Storrs Center master plan will knit quality architecture, pedestrian-oriented streets, and public spaces into a series of small neighborhoods that will make up the new fabric of the town center.
Ground floor retail and commercial uses opening onto landscaped sidewalks and intimate streets will reinforce shared community spaces and will be supported by residences above. The center will combine retail, restaurant, and office uses with a variety of residence types including rental apartments, town homes and condominium apartments. Structured and surface parking will be provided.
Storrs Center is one of the most ambitious public/private initiatives in the history of the state. At its core is the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, Inc., an independent, non-profit organization that is composed of representatives from the community, local businesses, the Town and the University of Connecticut.
Storrs Center Alliance, LLC, an affiliate of Leyland Alliance LLC, Tuxedo, New York, is the master developer. Leyland Alliance is a noted New Urbanist development company that has developed mixed-use projects in Connecticut, New York, South Carolina and Virginia.
Scheduled to be completed in 2012 and 2013, respectively, the first two phases of Storrs Center will include commercial and residential offerings. The retail and other commercial space will be owned and managed by Leyland Alliance. Numerous commercial businesses have signed Letters of Intent to lease portions of the first phase of development.
Joining Leyland Alliance in developing the first two phases of Storrs Center is Education Realty Trust, Inc. (EdR), based in Memphis, Tennessee. Education Realty Trust will create high quality housing within Storrs Center to appeal to the University and Town of Mansfield community. EdR will develop, own and manage 290 high quality apartment homes, including studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom residences.
BL Companies of Meriden, Conn. is the lead architect for buildings included within the first two phases. Erland Construction of East Winsor, Conn. is serving as the General Contractor for this phase of the project.
Andy Graves, LEED AP, principal at BL Companies. says, “ We have been working with Leyland Alliance for a number of years and have been involved with a number of projects with them. EdR is brings expertise in residential communities near Universities. We see our relationship with our clients as co-creative collaborators. Our role on this particular project was to help manifest a shared vision of a new place, a center, a gathering place for the town of Mansfield. As part of the process all of the stake holders needed to be involved in a way that brought out a common vision that could still encompass the diversity of ideas and goals of all involved. “
Graves noted that. “ This first portion of the project is the first piece of a complex public private partnership that involves significant infrastructure work as well a number ofnew mixed use multi-tenant buildings. At the heart of the project is a new town green which provides a center for a University town that currently lacks a town center.
He also pointed out that, “ As part of the early approval process of the master plan for the project, sustainability guidelines were introduced as a way of ensuring that all of the future development would be environmentally responsible. Guidelines are based on the LEED building rating systems. The project features water efficient plumbing fixtures, low maintenance, native and locally adaptive landscaping, high efficiency mechanical systems, thermally efficient building envelop, low VOC building materials, and materials with significant amounts of recycled content.”
Eric Greene,vice president of Erland Construction in East Windsor, Conn., the project’s general contractor says, ”The project is moving along very well and we were able to get both buildings TS-1and DL-1/2 weather tight prior to Christmas and the site prepared for the winter months. This was a big milestone that we met through a lot of hard work by many. The buildings are currently being heated and the trades are all able to work through the winter. Interior mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-ins are nearly complete in Building TS-1 and production sheetrock is starting. DS-1/2 follows TS-1 by a few weeks.”
He said, “The architects (BL Companies) and Developers (Leyland Storrs and EdR) have done a great job with the exterior of the building to design buildings that create the sense of community with very inviting facades. The exterior façade is designed to look as if the buildings were built over time and have a very New England feel to them. The various materials also give the buildings a feel of smaller scale so that they fit in.
Greene said, “We have worked very hard to utilize Connecticut firms and local workers from the Storrs/Mansfield area on the project. Approximately 85% of the subcontracts awarded have been Connecticut firms and approximately 70% of the workers on site each day are from Connecticut. Erland, Mansfield Downtown Partnership, and the developers have sponsored local job fairs. Erland has hired an engineering student from UConn and many subcontractors have hired local workers for this project as well as for other projects that have their companies have in Connecticut.”