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11/20/2023 09:38 AMAn update on the findings of the economic development study of the Route 1 East/Mariner’s Way corridor will be given immediately following the annual town meeting scheduled for Monday, Nov. 27, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Saybrook Middle School.
Per a press release, “Camoin Associates, the consultant charged with the study, will outline the project and its purpose, talk about the market analysis and economic opportunity studies it has been conducting, and engage with the community to answer questions and receive feedback.”
Mariner’s Way is the name given to a section of town located at the Route One East connector in Old Saybrook between Saybrook Junction’s Town Center and Ferry Point’s Marina District. For nearly a decade, the town has been hoping to develop the area, but with the arrival of COVID-19, attention has been focused on other matters for the last three years.
In an effort to spark the redevelopment of Mariner’s Way, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) unanimously voted in the summer to appropriate $89,910 for a consultant to help development efforts.
Jennifer Donahue, the town’s director of economic development and communications, said Camoin Associates would help redevelopment efforts in several areas.
“The consultant will be performing a market analysis and an economic opportunity study as well as providing stakeholder education, input, consensus building, and buy-in for a comprehensive redevelopment effort and crafting a final report and recommendations,” Donahue said earlier in the year.
Now, citizens can hear an update on those efforts.
Redeveloping Mainer’s Way has been a long-time project for the town. Donahue previously described the area as “(a)n eclectic mix of businesses” with “a number of vacant and blighted areas, some of which are brownfields.”
Since the area is a gateway to Old Saybrook, bringing new business to the area and eliminating any blight is something town leaders have long desired.
Between 2014 and 2019, the town revisited the areas multiple times. A study was done in 2014, and in 2017, an action plan was developed. In 2019, the town created a tax increment financing district in the area, which created a mechanism to set aside funds to re-invest in the district.