Friday, May 6, 2011

Costco Plans New Britain Store Near Route 9

Golf Course Would Need To Move A Couple Of Holes

Posted by Frank Smith at 6.5.11

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Costco, the wholesale warehouse club chain, is planning a store along Route 71 in New Britain, just south of the Westfarms/Corbins Corner shopping mecca.

It is not clear when the Costco might open, and a formal proposal has yet to be submitted. But sources familiar with the plans told The Courant that the warehouse chain is preparing to seek permits to occupy 17 acres south of a Target store, which is just off Route 9.

The parcel is now part of the city's 18-hole municipal golf course in A.W. Stanley Park — but holes lost to the store would be replaced across the road, under the plan being discussed by Costco and city officials.

If it opens, the New Britain Costco would be the sixth in Connecticut, with the next-closest to Hartford located in Enfield. The other four are in Brookfield, Milford, Norwalk and Waterbury, the Costco website shows.

New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart would not comment on the tenant pursuing the site, which is now the focus of a city-proposed zone change that would allow commercial development. Costco did not return a call Friday seeking comment.

The city would use up to 50 acres of the A.W. Stanley Park across Route 71 to replace the portion of the golf course that would be swallowed up by the Costco development. While Stewart wouldn't name the tenant, he said the relocation of the golf holes would be paid for by the developer.

May 6, 2011 at 10:00 PM
Anonymous said...

Once again the NIMBYs start to rear their ugly heads, opposing every economic development proposal that comes along - like the Costco New Britain Store. People need to decide. Economic development and jobs, or some trees and a re-located golf course.

May 7, 2011 at 12:50 AM
New Britain Resident said...

With the loss of WalMart, Target is the only substantially sized affordable retail establishment in New Britain. It doesn't appear to have negatively affected golfers from using Stanley Golf Course; if anything, it may have drawn golfers from outside New Britain to use the golf course.
Costco just may be a welcome addition to shoppers, giving them another alternative to higher priced retailers located at nearby West Farms Mall.
Also to be considered is the taxes the store would pay to New Britain, helping to ease taxes for home owners.
I say, "Welcome Aboard, Costco!

May 8, 2011 at 9:19 PM
Anonymous said...

Everyone should be delighted that a company like Costco would choose New Britain for their first Hartford area location. The only other locations they have in this area are Waterbury and Enfield, so this is an honor that they would choose New Britain of all places.

Let's hope that the radical Democrats on the council don't drive them away in a similar fashion to the way they ran Wal-Mart out of town and drove away the proposed $5 million investment in the Pinnacle Heights development.

Unfortunately their record speaks for itself when it comes to derailing any positive developments for New Britain.

May 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM
Anonymous said...

Golfers will cross the road? Which side of the the road are we talking about, the Target side or the AW Stanley Park side?

May 9, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Lou Salvio said...

New Britain is a small - area wise - city comprising about 13.4 sq. miles. It is a difficult thing to attract developers to a town like ours. Much of our city is taken up by non-taxable properties; huge parcels are state properties, including CCSU where Mr. Mione and one other CCSU Biology professors work. Add to that, hospitals, churches, state highways, schools, streets, city buildings, park land, etc., and what is left? Very Little!!

In a telephone conversation with Mr. Mione last week, I was less than impressed with what I feel are his difficult to corroborate arguments re, a loss of a field trip venue for CCSU students - I could suggest many others - , destruction of a forest
community, the "urban heat island effect" that clearly does not exist in New Britain and a bird species census for which he cannot provide a recent, scientific tally.

Please, New Britain taxpayers are hurting. The City
has a potential developer that is looking for NOTHING from the city to buildi a store here that would provide, jobs, tax revenue and fiscal aid to a city that is in dire financial straits.

The plan, that Alderman Catanzaro and I have seen is a good one, one that will benefit the City while enhancing the A.W. Stanley park property.

Please, stop hurting the City for selfish, personal reasons.

May 9, 2011 at 5:15 PM

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