The proposal for a large-scale development at the intersection of Highland Avenue, Dickerman Road and I-691 is small than the project approved six years ago but will benefit the town more financially, according to representatives of the developer who appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission Monday.
The 635,000 square foot development, planned for 110 acres at the intersection of Highland Avenue and the entrance to I-691, is proposed to include retail stores, a high-end designer outlet center, restaurants, a hotel, offices, condos and possibly a spa.
The developer describes the project as "the only upscale outlet shopping and quality dining option between Hartford and New Haven."
In 2007 the commission approved similar plans for the site, but when it was clear the the country was in the worst recession since the Great Depression, those plans were put on hold.
The most current plans include about 50,000 square feet less of retail space.
The commission opened the public hearing on the application last month and continued it at a special meeting Monday, when it was continued again to July 22.
WS Development, going under the name Cheshire Route 10 LLC, presented a traffic engineer who told the commission that while the revised plans call for a smaller project that will likely generate less traffic than the 2007 plan, the plans for traffic mitigation will remain the same.
The ongoing recession, plus other factors such as changes in peak times, means that the traffic generated from the development will be about 20 percent less than the prior plans, said Michael Galante of Frederick Clark Associates.
"The proposed mitigation plan is the same despite the decreases," he told the commission.
"We now believe it's overdesigned, but we're not proposing any reductions," said Louis Masiello, the company's vice president of development.
The public hearing is expected to conclude at the commission's July 22 meeting. The plans have already won approvals from the Inland Wetlands Commission.
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