Development agreement approved for Storrs Center in Mansfield, Connecticut

Mansfield, Connecticut, Town Council approved a development agreement for phases 1A and 1B of Storrs Center, a mixed-use urban project adjacent to the main campus of the University of Connecticut. The development is expected to break ground this year.

The new downtown will combine retail, restaurant, and office uses with a variety of residence types within walking distance of existing civic facilities, including E.O. Smith High School, the Mansfield Community Center, Town Hall, and a 135-acre wildlife sanctuary.

Development partners LeylandAlliance of Tuxedo, New York, and the Education Realty Trust (EDR) of Memphis, Tennessee, agreed along with the town to adhere to the community’s vision of a vibrant, mixed-use downtown. Storrs Center Alliance, an affiliate of LeylandAlliance, and EDR are expected to become the largest taxpayers in the Mansfield — a municipality of more than 24,000 people in the northeastern part of the state.

Working with the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, the town has secured $23 million in state and federal funding for Storrs Center, including $10.5 million for construction of the first parking garage. The town plans to finance its capital contributions using net revenue from completed phases of the project.

Philip Lodewick, president of the Partnership’s Board of Directors, characterized the development agreement as “the next step, and a crucial step, in the realization of a new, vibrant downtown, including a Mansfield Town Square, twenty-five acres of public open space, substantial improvement to Storrs Road and all the community, cultural, and economic benefits" the downtown will bring to Mansfield.

Conversations about the need for a true town center in Mansfield date back to at least the 1960s. In the late 1990s, former Mayor Mike Schor began discussions in earnest with Town Council members, town staff, and university officials about the possibility of creating a downtown for Mansfield.  In 2001, the Mansfield Downtown Partnership was formed as an independent, nonprofit organization, funded by the town and the university as well as by individual members of the community. The town designated the Partnership to act as its municipal development agency for Storrs Center in 2002. Storrs Center Alliance was selected as the master developer in 2004. The Storrs Center Special Design District was approved by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission in 2007.

Since then, key state and federal permits and licenses have been received; state and federal funding has been secured; twelve businesses have signed letters of intent for Phase 1A; and initial designs of the first buildings have begun.

The next steps include applications for a zoning permit for Phases 1A and 1B and building permits. The developer continues to seek commercial tenants. The town has had preliminary design meetings for an intermodal transportation hub and transit pathway and for the parking garage.

“Finalizing this development agreement is a great accomplishment for all parties involved,” said Mansfield Mayor Betsy Paterson.  “Storrs Center will provide many tangible benefits, such as an expanded tax base and new job opportunities. It will also strengthen the sense of community within the town by providing a place for friends and neighbors to gather, from simply meeting for a cup of coffee or to celebrate together at the annual Festival on the Green. Mansfield residents have waited a long time for a downtown, and this agreement moves us ever closer to that goal.”