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www.HartfordBusiness.com • May 4, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 3 Up Front Windsor Locks eyes $45M mixed-use development around planned train station By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com U se of public transportation has plummeted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn't stopped Windsor Locks officials from pinning their fu- ture economic-development hopes on a transit-oriented, mixed-use project. While ridership on CTrail's Hart- ford Line has slowed to a trickle in recent weeks, the town of Wind- sor Locks in April scored a major $45-million commitment from the state Bond Commission to fund construction of a new train station downtown on Main Street. With $62.4 million in state and federal funding now approved for the project, town officials are eyeing a roughly $45-million mixed-use development around the station as part of a public-private partnership that would include construction of several properties housing new apartments, commercial space as well as an indoor public market. The new station will be located in Windsor Locks' downtown, about a mile north of a platform that currently serves as a stop on the Hartford rail line. "The whole idea of this investment in our commuter-rail infrastructure is to stimulate transit-oriented develop- ment in the station areas, and before a shovel has even hit the ground, a vi- able plan to do just that has emerged in Windsor Locks," said the town's First Selectman Christopher Kervick. Jennifer Ro- driguez, Windsor Locks' director of planning and development, said the already- allocated govern- ment funds will go toward build- ing a 510-foot- long boarding platform, traffic improvements and station signalling. The money will also help fund a reconfiguration of local streets and intersections, improvements to main- line rail track and construction of a new maintenance facility for Amtrak. A request for proposals will be going out soon for a project contrac- tor, Kervick said, but there is no construction timetable yet. "The governor's office is looking for projects that are shovel-ready to stimulate the economy," after the pandemic passes, "and [the train station] fits the bill," Kervick said. Around the station, the town is plotting an ambitious mixed-use development. Plans include a 30,000-square- foot, year-round indoor public market adjacent to the boarding platform, which could also house traditional station functions such as a ticket-vending facility, utility room and airport-shuttle waiting area. Continued on page 4 >> TOWN PROFILE: WINDSOR LOCKS WE FOCUS ON YOUR FACILITIES— SO YOU CAN FOCUS ON YOUR BUSINESS. The company that builds and installs the critical systems in virtually every type of facility is the same company you can rely on to maintain them. For over over 50 years, our clients have trusted us to deliver end-to-end facilities solutions, so they can focus on their core business. We design, install, and maintain systems in: Industrial, Manufacturing, Commercial, Higher Education, Healthcare, and Pharmaceutical facilities. 860.871.1111 Toll Free: 800.741.6367 nemsi.com MECHANICAL | ELECTRICAL | PLUMBING | SHEET METAL | BUILDING AUTOMATION | FACILITIES SERVICES License #'s: E1-0125666 S1-302974 P1-203519 F1-10498 SM1-192 MC-1134 NEMSI HBJ_QtrPg Ads_200117.indd 4 1/17/20 1:31 PM Christopher Kervick, First Selectman, Windsor Locks RENDERING | CONTRIBUTED A rendering of Windsor Locks' planned Hartford Line train station on Main Street.