Sandy Hook Center—

Streetscape Session Aims at Revitalization 

By Andrew Gorosko

About 15 people interested in the future vitality of Sandy Hook Center came together for a productive session last weekend keyed to the economic enhancement of that area, according to Elizabeth Stocker, the town’s community development director.

The town sponsored the planning session at St John’s Episcopal Church on April 3 to create a forum for public discussion about physical improvements planned for Sandy Hook Center.

A town steering committee recently started planning for the physical revitalization of Sandy Hook Center, a compact business district extending outward from the intersection of Church Hill Road, Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, and Glen Road.

“It went very well,” Ms Stocker said of the planning session. Participants discussed at length how to infuse the area with economic growth, she said. Participants were Sandy Hook Center property owners and business owners, plus town officials.

Landscape architect Jane Didona of Didona Associates attended. Ms Didona is designing the Sandy Hook Center Streetscape Improvement Project for the town.

Discussion at the session focused on organizational efforts, advertising, and promotion, Ms Stocker said. “Everyone left [the session] with the sense that the district needs to organize,” Ms Stocker said.

Such an effort would be akin to reorganizing the former group known as  Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP). That group, which was active in the 1980s, was comprised of Sandy Hook Center business people interested in promoting that area’s business economy.

Ms Stocker said she expects that Sandy Hook Center business people will be forming some organization to promote their common interests.

Of the April 3 planning session, Ms Stocker said, “I think that this was a necessary element that will help things along.”

The steering committee, which is overseeing the town’s Sandy Hook Center Streetscape Improvement Project, has tentatively scheduled a meeting for April 28, Ms Stocker said.

Revitalization

The town is planning a multiphased project intended to revitalize and economically stimulate the commercial hamlet alongside the Pootatuck River. The project has been in the planning stages for the past several years. The overall program is estimated to cost $1.25 million for physical improvements along sections of four streets.

The project will include the design and installation of new sidewalks, curbing, decorative street lighting and crosswalks, plus landscaping elements. The project is keyed to improve pedestrian mobility and safety, as well as improve the area’s appearance and functioning.

Initial design and construction work will focus on the section of Church Hill Road extending from Dayton Street to the Pootatuck River. The town will use a $475,000 state grant for the improvements to both sides of Church Hill Road. Construction along Church Hill Road may start later this year.

Later phases of the streetscape project would focus on Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, and Glen Road. That work is projected to cost $775,000. Of that amount, $620,000 would be covered by a federal grant, with the remaining $155,000 assumed by the town.

The streetscape program is intended to generate new economic development by creating opportunities for business expansion and the creation of new businesses. The planned improvements are intended to create a positive image of the area and to help increase the value of properties there. The project is designed to attract residents and visitors to the area by enhancing its village ambience.

The project’s design is intended to help eliminate travel conflicts between pedestrians and motorists.

Traffic-calming devices will be used to slow the flow of traffic through the area, creating safer pedestrian conditions.

In 2002, the town extended United Water’s public water supply to Sandy Hook Center. In 1997, the town extended sanitary sewers there. In 1995, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) created Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) zoning to permit mixed land uses and to foster the creation of pedestrian amenities and adequate parking. During the past several years, private property owners have made a range of physical improvements at their Sandy Hook Center real estate. Both new development and redevelopment have occurred.