By LISA CAPOBIANCO
STAFF WRITER
Bristol Hospital proposes medical office building downtown
Although the city recently went back to square one for the development of the former mall site downtown, Bristol Hospital has proposed to acquire a portion of the property.
Last Thursday, Bristol Hospital submitted a letter of intent to the City Council to acquire the corners of Riverside Avenue and Main Street for a medical office building.
Although detailed plans for the 15-acre site have not been shared yet, the building would “house numerous physician practices of the Bristol Hospital Multi-Specialty Group and possibly some other ambulatory services,” said Bristol Hospital President and CEO Kurt Barwis in a message to all hospital employees, board members, medical staff, corporators and volunteers.
“City officials have said publicly that they hope this will ‘help jump start’ the development of the entire area,” said Barwis in the e-mail. “We are still very early in the planning process but we will share more details over the next several months.”
In November, Renaissance Downtowns ended its contract with the city after trying to develop the downtown site for six years. In a letter addressed to the Bristol Downtown Development Corporation, the attorney representing the Long Island-based firm stated Renaissance ended its contract for a variety of reasons, including the “inability of the parties involved to agree on an overall strategy of the development that would allow for a creation of a vibrant, walkable downtown area.”
Renaissance proposed bringing a four story, mixed-use building fronting Main Street and Riverside Avenue, along with 100 market rate housing units as well as over 20,000 square feet of retail space and a public Piazza.
Last Thursday, the City Council and the BDDC met behind closed doors to discuss the proposal from Bristol Hospital. No votes were taken when they reconvened into public session. A special City Council meeting will take place on Monday, Dec. 28, 6 p.m. to review questions. No votes will be taken during that meeting.
Source: Bristol CT Open Government Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyegpBVEFJs
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Hospital proposes downtown presence
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