High Meadows School Economic Development Project

09/13/2023

Scott Jackson Named Incoming Executive Director of the Hamden Economic Development Corporation

This fall, former Mayor Scott Jackson will take over the leadership of the Hamden Economic Development Corporation (HEDC). The Board of Directors of HEDC unanimously approved Mr. Jackson as the new Executive Director when Dale Kroop retires from the organization later this fall.

HEDC was formed in 2004 and received its 501C4 IRS Tax Exempt status shortly thereafter. Mr. Kroop developed the concept of HEDC and has lead the organization for the better part of 20 years. “HEDC began as a tool to clean up blighted and contaminated properties, to protect the Hamden Taxpayers from that liability. It was part of the overall plan for Economic Development in Hamden, to make these properties productive again,” stated Mr. Kroop.

Over time, the role of HEDC expanded into becoming a production agency for the Town by managing several projects and programs such as the design, remediation and restoration of Rochford Field and Villano Park. HEDC also helped to secure funds to demolish two of the blighted buildings at the location of the former Hamden Middle School.

HEDC also completed several projects and programs such as
• Structural Repair program for over 100 homes in 2009-2014. This program was re-established in 2020 and will complete repairs at 60 additional homes through 2023.
• Remediation and repositioning of commercial properties
• Zero Energy Housing
• Soil Management Fund
• Hamden Deconstruction Program
• CT DEEP Newhall Remediation Program
• Hamden Business Incubator
These projects were funded through state and federal grants as well as tax credits. All told, the work of HEDC resulted in over $34.6 Million of investments. Still there is work to do and Mr. Jackson will take over at a time when community needs continue. Mr. Jackson will serve as Assistant Director until Mr. Kroop’s formal retirement this fall.

“This is a great opportunity to continue forward on the path established by HEDC over the last two decades. This program has been a true difference-maker for residents and businesses alike, and I look forward to working with the Board of Directors to continue its entrepreneurial spirit, its accessibility to the program participants, and its commitment to working with partners to create timely solutions for our broad array of community stakeholders.”
For further information about HEDC go to

The HEDC & the NCDC are committed to developing the tax base & advocating for business in communities throughout CT including the New Haven Metro Region.

04/22/2021

Update: BL Companies has completed their Phase II Environmental Assessment, and demolition/remediation estimates. The Assessment noted that there is no mercury contamination in the gymnasium flooring and substrate. Furthermore, the water and soil testing came back negative for contaminants (great news).

In light of this news, Hamden will be pursing an RFP process to find a developer that will build a residential community, with a managed care/senior component. The Town is seeking to have this RFP out by the end of April. Concurrently, The Town has engaged The State for a 12 month extension to complete the conveyance of this property. This would extend our option to purchase until June 30th 2022. This will allow for a complete and thorough RFP process, and give the potential bid awardee the appropriate time to complete their design process, and go through The Town’s approval process. Over the past month alone there has been much interest from developers and business community at large regarding this site and when Hamden will release an RFP. At this point we are more than confident that we will have a healthy amount of bids on the ensuing RFP.

https://www.hamden.com/743/High-Meadows-Property

02/05/2021

Camoin 310s reuse scenarios have been posted to The Town webapge. They gave two viable scenarios for the site.

Scenario 1 - A managed senior care community would be located on the 21-acre Hartford Turnpike site and would consist of 450 units. Current zoning requires 2,000 SF of lot area per dwelling unit in a managed care community, equivalent to a maximum of 457 units assuming a 21-acre lot acre. The 450 units are assumed to be equally split between independent living units and assisted living units (225 of each). 20% of units would meet the Town’s housing affordability requirement. After accounting for common spaces and facilities for on-site services, the gross floor area of the facility
would be approximately 380,000 SF, divided across several buildings. The total project cost for this scenario is estimated at $90 million.

Scenario 2 - Scenario 2 allows for increased density. As in Scenario 1, Scenario 2 has a prominent senior living component and
single-family homes. It also includes multifamily apartments (not age-restricted). Approximately half of the Hartford Turnpike site would house a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). The CCRC would feature a broader continuum of senior living options, including not only independent living and assisted living, but also nursing and memory care beds. Loosely applying maximum density requirements for the T4 zone as a guide, the CCRC would be situated on about 11 acres, have a lot coverage of 40%, and measure 3 stories in height. This translates to a building footprint of about 180,000 SF, and a total gross floor area of about 540,000 SF. The facility would have 220 independent living units, 220 assisted living units, and 220 skilled nursing/memory care beds, for a total of 660 senior units or beds. 20% of dwelling units would meet the Town’s affordability requirement. The remaining half of the Hartford Turnpike site would be multifamily apartments open to any age group. Assuming 10 acres of lot area and applying the T4 zoning maximum of 16 dwelling units per acre would
allow for 160 apartment units, of which 128 would be market-rate and 32 would be affordable. The total project cost for this scenario is estimated at $160 million.

12/29/2020

On Dec. 21st Legislative Council approved an expanded scope of work with BL Companies to complete a Phase II Site Assessment at High Meadows. The Phase II Assessment will include, an evaluation of the presence/absence of constituents of concern in soil and groundwater, Mercury and Hazardous Building Materials Assessment, and a remediation and estimate report. This information will provide a final accurate picture of High Meadows, allowing The Town to write an effective RFP, and providing good information for a developer to propose a realistic project for the site. This Phase II Assessment will complete the Pre-Development work portion of this project, and should be completed within 5-6 weeks.

The Town is also awaiting the final feasibility study from Camoin 310 that will detail two reuse scenarios for the site. Thus far Camoin 310 has identified continuum-of-care senior living, including independent living, assisted living, and nursing/memory care, as the highest and best use for the site given both strong market demand and high compatibility with the physical site and surrounding neighborhood. As such the scenarios will reflect those findings. This final analysis should be completed within the next 2 weeks.

At the completion of the aforementioned work The Town will go forward with drafting an RFP to find a developer. The RFP will seek to find a qualified developer whom proposes a use for High Meadows consistent with the reuse scenarios; and will provide the funding to purchase the site from The State at no cost to Hamden.

11/24/2020

The High Meadows webpage has been updated to include the Market Study completed by Camoin 310, as well as the link to the recording of the Informational Forum held on the 12th of Nov. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Learn about the High Meadows Property!

11/06/2020

The purpose of this forum is to update the public on the progress being made at High Meadows, and to provide information about next steps. Camoin 310 will speak to the work it has been contracted to perform, and to present the Executive Summary of its market analysis. In addition Mr. Austin ( Town Engineer ), and Clare Olsen of BL Companies will attend to provide information regarding the survey, and site assessment. The public will also be given the opportunity to comment on the project as well.

https://zoom.us/j/94804661245pwd=TU1qVXV4QXlzUDFabWpDUExHRlY0dz09
Passcode: Dragons

1-646-558-8656
Webinar ID: 948 0466 1245

10/27/2020

There has been a High Meadows page created on the Town Website. It contains an overview, and ongoing update the project. Also the documents regarding the work taking place at the site are posted RFPs, contracts, maps, reports etc.

Learn about the High Meadows Property!

10/01/2020

Good morning all! Just checking in with everyone to let them know the latest and greatest. Since Mr. Kroop has announced his retirement last month I have taken complete ownership of this project going forward. Dale and I have been working on this project going back to July of 2019. At this point we are awaiting a finalized copy of the building report.
On Sept. 9th we meet with Camoin 310, who The Town selected to complete a market and feasibility study for the high meadows property. Camoin 310 over the next 2 months will spend time compiling information about the site, and various other socioeconomic data that will be used to determine type and viability of any economic development effort at High Meadows. Once that work is completed Camoin 310 will provide The Town with a 2-3 proposals of what could work at High Meadows. Camoin 310 as part of their work was made aware of the public input received at the forum that was held late last year at Ridge Hill School. That input with inform and shape their future proposal.
If you have any questions comments or concerns do not hesitate to leave them here or shoot me an email at [email protected]

10/01/2020

Good morning all! Just checking in with everyone to let them know the latest and greatest. Since Mr. Kroop has announced his retirement last month I have taken complete ownership of this project going forward. Dale and I have been working on this project going back to July of 2019. At this point we are awaiting a finalized copy of the building report.

On Sept. 9th we meet with Camoin 310, who The Town selected to complete a market and feasibility study for the high meadows property. Camoin 310 over the next 2 months will spend time compiling information about the site, and various other socioeconomic data that will be used to determine type and viability of any economic development effort at High Meadows. Once that work is completed Camoin 310 will provide The Town with a 2-3 proposals of what could work at High Meadows. Camoin 310 as part of their work was made aware of the public input received at the forum that was held late last year at Ridge Hill School. That input with inform and shape their future proposal.

If you have any questions comments or concerns do not hesitate to leave them here or shoot me an email at [email protected]

09/07/2020

Good evening Everyone, I hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend. I have a few updates for you.

So far the engineering study has been completed and the building evaluation is nearing completion. It hard to describe the engineering study as it highly technical. the one thing i can say about it is that the wetland areas are about what they were before. However as the town engineer tells me, they are better defined which helps any prospective developer with decision making. Also the town engineer is providing details to us to analyze the topographic data so we better understand access and egress.

As I told you the building report is nearing completion, we think it is a matter of 2-3 weeks before completion.

Also we hired a company to complete the market study. Camoin Associates has a deep background in exactly what we need. Following their work this fall, we will look at the traffic impacts of any proposed use/development.

Finally for those of you who do not know, i will be retiring from the Town of Hamden as the Economic Development Director at the end of November. I will contionue working part time for our non-profit Hamden Economic Development Corporation. The Mayor will announce his plans for my office in the near future. But I am giving over this project to my colleague Walter Morton. Walter will be setting up a community meeting soon to go over details of what I have just described as well as outlining next steps. I will advise Walter if he needs it. Have a good night.
Dale
H