Hartford HealthCare to build new facility on former Toys R Us site
Waterford — The town recently announced Hartford HealthCare, a Connecticut health care network, will be building on the former Toys R Us property.
Motorists might have noticed the abandoned Toys R Us building was demolished in recent weeks to make way for a multidisciplinary building that will house offices for primary care, medical specialists, men’s health and rehabilitation facilities, among other services.
“Hartford HealthCare is committed to improving access to care for the communities it serves,” Hartford HealthCare Senior Vice President Donna Handley wrote in a statement.
Waterford Planning Director Abby Piersall said Hartford HealthCare jumped through the necessary regulatory hoops to bring the project to fruition, including the Inland Wetlands and Planning and Zoning Commissions, and the company has been working with the town for more than a year. The company had to show it was not going to cause additional impact to wetlands, and under stormwater regulations, it was required to treat water before releasing it from the site.
Piersall and Hartford HealthCare have only committed to the new space being a multimillion-dollar project. The company refused to give specifics, since some of the building’s services have yet to be determined, and the town doesn’t yet know the construction value.
Hartford HealthCare will soon find another shoreline facility between ones in Mystic and Old Lyme.
“We are excited about the future and bringing our model of world-class care to eastern Connecticut shoreline residents,” Handley wrote. “The new, multidisciplinary facility in Waterford will offer a variety of much-needed services including imaging, cardiology, primary care and physical therapy. This is just the beginning. This investment in our community fully integrates with our existing shoreline services that extend into Rhode Island and align with Hartford HealthCare’s integrated network of world-class providers.”
Piersall explained how the building replacing a long-vacant Toys R Us will help the town.
“These are upstanding folks who are going to put in a great-looking building with a use that's needed in the area,” she said. “It's a gateway into town. I think the exciting thing for us is that there's something that is sort of modern and sleek and inviting right when you come off the highway, and that's a that's a really nice thing to have as an anchor.”
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