Norwich — Standing on a gravel roadway through a farm field off Canterbury Turnpike Monday, members of the city utilities commission heard the hum of nearby Interstate 395 traffic as they listened to details of a proposed plan to create a second business park there.

The Board of Pubic Utilities Commissioners held an hour-long site visit of the former Tarryk Farm portion of the land now being proposed for the so-called “business park north” in the Occum area.

The Norwich Community Development Corp. has a purchase agreement for $3.55 million for 17 parcels including the former Tarryk and Doolittle farms, where proposals for The Byron Brook luxury golf resort and commercial development fell through a decade ago.

Henry Resnikoff, the NCDC's real estate consultant for the project, told the utilities commission Monday the entire property is comprised of 284 acres, but only 184 acres are suitable for development.

The purchase option included in the agreement of sale between NCDC and owners, Byron Brook Country Club LLC and M&A Holdings LLC has been extended twice, and now runs through Dec. 15, with a possible extension to Dec. 15, 2022. NPU has been funding the purchase options and engineering and feasible studies to date, including a proposal to redesign Exit 18 off Interstate 395 with a dedicated lane into the new business park. A main arterial road is proposed for inside the new park.

Resnikoff said state officials have confirmed the new design – a close replica of the Interstate 95- Exit 74 ramp for the Costco development – is feasible but no formal applications for permits have been filed with the state Department of Transportation. The road would keep new business park traffic off residential roads, such as Canterbury Turnpike and Lawler Lane. The land stretches from Canterbury Turnpike to Lawler Lane, with a portion on the opposite side of Lawler Lane. Some traffic would need to cross Lawler Lane, or Lawler Lane could be rerouted around the proposed project land, Resnikoff said.

“People in the neighborhoods need to know there will not be commercial access to the park from Canterbury Turnpike or Lawler Lane,” utilities commission Chairman Robert Staley said.

Emergency vehicles only would be allowed along gated access roads, Resnikoff said, and wide buffer zones would shield nearby residents from the development.

The Byron Brook developers had purchased other properties off Route 97 in Occum Village that would be suitable for a large, roughly 10-acre solar farm in the business park, Resnikoff said.

Two other smaller 5-acre areas for possible solar farms have also been identified on the property. NPU General Manager Chris LaRose said solar arrays on the property could generate 2 to 4 megawatts of power.

City agencies have not yet decided whether to go ahead with the purchase, and no funding sources for the purchase price or development of the park roads or utilities have been identified.

LaRose said the property has water and sewer utilities from Canterbury Turnpike, and electric and natural gas service would enter the property from lines in Taftville.

The City Council in April approved zoning regulations allowing a Business Master Plan District to be proposed on at least 100 contiguous acres. Any specific proposed site for a Business Master Plan District would need a public hearing and approval by the Commission on the City Plan.

Allowed uses in the district zoning regulation include professional and contractor offices, research and development facilities, computer development firms, data or logistic centers, laboratories, retail, manufacturing and power generation facilities and utilities.

Resnikoff stressed during Monday’s tour that no “noxious” development, such as tire-burning plants, junk car crushing or processing businesses, would be allowed in the proposed business park. Mayor Peter A. Nystrom said a developer did approach the city a few years ago wanting to locate a 75-acre junk vehicle processing business on the former Tarryk Farm. City officials twice rejected the idea, he told utility commissioners.

Nystrom said Monday the City Council likely will discuss the business park proposal and future property acquisition in executive session at its May 17 meeting.

c.bessette@theday.com