Groton showing Mystic Education Center property to prospective developers
Groton — Town planning staff have been showing the 77-acre Mystic Education Center property to prospective developers and hope to issue a request for development proposals in the fall.
"We have a lot of interest and the type of development runs the gamut. There isn't just one type," said Paige Bronk, Groton's economic and community development manager. "We have some commercial, some mixed use, some residential. We have a variety of developers that are engaging."
The Office of Planning and Development Services will hold an informational session on Thursday for members of the public interested in the property. The session, from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Annex, will include 10-minute presentations at 5:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m.
Engineering and planning consultants from Horsley Witten Group, which has been assessing physical assets of the site at 240 Oral School Road, also will take questions.
"Right now we're marketing the property, we're showing the property, and at the same time, what we're hoping to do Thursday night is get some feedback from people in the community," said Jonathan Reiner, Groton's director of planning and development services.
The town has been advertising the site in the New England Real Estate Journal for several months and has held about 20 showings since the fall.
Of the 77 acres, about half of the land is developable, Reiner said. The remaining land is protected by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The property could be leased or sold, but is more likely to be sold, Bronk said. The town has not listed an asking price.
"The reason is this is not a real estate transaction," Bronk said. "This is a redevelopment project. So we're more interested in the proposed use, the caliber of the development team, the proposed schedule, their ability to execute — which would include financing — and community benefit," he said.
The education center, formerly called the Mystic Oral School, served as a residential school for the deaf from 1895 until 1980. It was later used by groups including the Groton Recreation Department, Special Olympics, and business and youth sports groups needing practice fields.
The property has been vacant since 2011.
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