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‘Tolland Village’ may finally come to development

TOLLAND — Hundreds of neighbors packed into the auditorium at Tolland High School Monday night for a Town Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing. T...
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TOLLAND — Hundreds of neighbors packed into the auditorium at Tolland High School Monday night for a Town Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing. The hearing involved a mixed-use development in an area locally known as “Tolland Village,” a piece of land which abuts I-84 at exit 68.

“It’s close to Hartford, it’s close to UConn. The town is really in the pathway of what’s exciting that’s happening at UConn,” said Mark DePecol, the owner of development firm NE Real Estate. “If [Tolland wants] to grow they need people so these kinds of developments, that kind of business will actually increase tax revenues quite a bit and they need new tax revenues.”

The proposal calls for a mixed-used property with a hotel, apartments, and retail shops.

The P&Z commission was asked to exempt certain conditions of town code to allow for buildings up to five stories, and a facade of up to 300 feet.

But many in the community were against the proposal, saying it would harm the character of the town.

“We’re a small community, a quiet community, typical New England and we want to keep it that way and the idea of having students, large numbers of people, parking problems that it brings, the traffic, is a concern to all of us,” said Mike Olesnevich, a Tolland resident of almost 50 years.

The project still has many hurdles and committees to clear before any construction can begin. The estimated start date for construction, if approved, is 2019.

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