Sandy Hook Center Streetscape Construction Expected By Midyear

By Andrew Gorosko

The Sandy Hook Center Streetscape Project, a beautification plan intended make to the compact business district a more appealing retail and dining destination, is projected to start construction along Church Hill Road by midyear.

The overall $1.25 million Sandy Hook Center beautification project is intended to economically revitalize the district that centers on the intersection Church Hill Road, Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, and Glen Road. Project planning has been underway for several years.

Members of the project’s steering committee, and others, met January 18 at the Multipurpose Center on Riverside Road to advise landscape architect Jane Didona on which construction materials should be used for the project.

The project includes the design and installation of new sidewalks, curbing, decorative street lighting and crosswalks, plus landscaping elements. The work is keyed to improving pedestrian mobility and safety, as well as improving the area’s appearance and functioning, with the goal of revitalizing and economically stimulating the commercial hamlet.

Steering committee member Mary Fellows, who is a Sandy Hook Center merchant, said property owners in the area want the beautification project to make the area a “destination,” rather than a place through which people pass to go elsewhere.

The first phase of the work, which is slated to begin midyear and continue through the summer, would occur on the section of Church Hill Road lying between the Church Hill Road bridge crossing above the Pootatuck River and Church Hill Road’s intersection with Dayton Street.

Additional construction work would occur in the future on the sections of Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, and Glen Road, all of which extend outward from the four-way intersection.

The $1.25 million multiphased project would be jointly paid for by federal, state, and town funds. The federal share for the work would be $620,000; the state would cover $475,000 of the costs; and the town would assume the remaining $155,000.

A $475,000 state grant will cover the Church Hill Road section of the project, as well as the design work for the improvements to be made to sections of the three other streets.

At the January 18 session, Ms Didona provided participants with detailed cost estimates on the various building materials that would be used in the Church Hill Road phase of the project. Of the $475,000 state grant for the first phase of the streetscape project, approximately $315,000 would be designated for construction.

Through their discussion, steering committee members, and others, decided which aspects of the improvement project were most important to accomplish, and which others were secondary and could be eliminated, if necessary, based on budget constraints. That approach could result in the project providing new decorative concrete sidewalks along Church Hill Road, but eliminating planters there.

“We think that it’s essential that we have sidewalks on both sides of the road,” Ms Didona said. Existing sidewalks in the area are irregular. Decorative lightposts also would be positioned along both sides of the street. Also, maple trees and cherry trees would be planted along the street.

When construction is underway, workers will need to be careful because there are many buried utility lines in the area, she said.

The project will include a decorative sign bearing the legend “Welcome to Sandy Hook” positioned near the intersection of Church Hill Road and Dayton Street to greet motorists traveling eastward on Church Hill Road, she said.  

Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker said the Police Commission, serving as the town’s traffic authority, will consider on February 1 a proposal to create a new crosswalk on Church Hill Road in front of the Sandy Hook Diner as part of the streetscape project.

The town would supervise the construction firms that make the Church Hill Road improvements, Ms Stocker said.

In response to a query about the project’s aesthetics, Ms Stocker said the town has explored burying utility lines in Sandy Hook Center to improve the area’s appearance, but added that such line burial would be prohibitively expensive, so it will not be done.

Ms Didona said she expects that construction work could be put out to competitive bidding by March. Construction work could start in June or July, she added.

The streetscape project is designed to create a positive image for the area and to help increase the value of properties there. The work is intended to attract residents and visitors to the area by enhancing its village ambience. The streetscape project is intended to improve pedestrian mobility, encourage economic growth, improve the area’s appearance, and reduce traffic congestion.

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.

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.