Preston persistence opens door to overdue progress

Nearly three decades late, the massive Norwich Hospital campus in Preston is almost ready for development with pollutants removed from the soil and most buildings demolished.

Instead of acting after it closed the institution for the mentally ill in the mid-1990s, the state did nothing to prepare it for future use. Successive administrations failed to protect buildings from continued deterioration. For years the state paid bills for water running from broken pipes, rather than shutting it off. It neglected to adequately evaluate the degree of hazardous materials or plan to remove them.

This was gross negligence, considering that the nearly 400-acre property presented exciting possibilities. It is perched overlooking the Thames River. It has easy access to Interstate 395. A massive investment to clean up the state’s own mess was necessary to attract serious private development.

The state sought some cheap way forward, marketing the property “as is,” leaving it to potential developers to take on the expense of making it useable and assuming the risk of clearing away hazardous materials in the soil and structures.

The approach failed.

The state has used the same approach for other abandoned properties, including in this region the Seaside Regional Center in Waterford and the former Mystic Oral School in Groton. Proposals for all these properties have arisen, then faltered.

Frustrated with the inaction at Norwich Hospital, the small town of Preston took a substantial risk in 2009 when it acquired the property within its borders, an initiative approved in a townwide vote. It marketed it as Preston Riverwalk.

Town officials deserve great credit for persistence, with much of the work done by volunteers who met for years as members of the Preston Redevelopment Agency. They pushed the state to do what it should have done long ago: invest in the cleanup of the property necessary to market it. Progress has been agonizingly slow. Expectations that the job was almost complete were repeatedly dashed by new pollution discoveries, requiring more investment.

Over the years the redevelopment agency ended up securing around $30 million in grants and loans to get the job done. Thanks goes to state Sen. Cathy Osten, co-chair of the Appropriations Committee, for her commitment to gain the necessary state support. Though her 19th Senate District does not include Preston (but does border the town), the Sprague Democrat recognized the job-creating potential of getting the property developed. She made it a priority.

Completion of the cleanup is now near, as documented by Day Staff Writer Claire Bessette in a recent story. The expectation is that crews will finish the job by next spring.

Once that is done things can move fast. Under its agreement with the town, the Mohegan Tribe’s development arm, Mohegan, is to take possession of the property in January 2025. Non-gaming development there will complement the Mohegan Sun Casino, visible across the Thames River. Plans discussed include upscale camping, a sports and recreation center, hotels, retail, and some residential development.

Saved from demolition was the Administration Building, because of its historic and architectural value, and four other buildings, which the Mohegan development arm may or may not choose to utilize. About 50 buildings were demolished, a reminder of both the massive size and scope of the former institution and the challenge of preparing it for new use.

After many starts and stops and some strange detours — can anyone forget the plans for a Disney-scale development called Utopia that appeared more a con game than an end game? — that challenge will soon be met. Jobs will be created. Preston will get a dramatic and desperately needed boost to its tax base. And a new chapter will be written for a piece of land that stretches back into antiquity.

The Day editorial board meets regularly with political, business and community leaders and convenes weekly to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larrañeta, retired executive editor Tim Cotter and retired deputy managing editor Lisa McGinley. However, only the publisher and editorial page editor are responsible for developing the editorial opinions. The board operates independently from the Day newsroom.