Posts

Showing posts from December, 2023

Enfield's five best things? No Kings protest makes the list

Image
  Someone was telling me yesterday about a group effort to list the five best things about Enfield. The first was Costco. Everyone struggled after that. Then there was a suggestion to add Raising Cane's. ​ Enfield doesn't have a movie theater, much in the way of parks, a mall, or a downtown. Our main library hasn't been renovated in decades and has more videos than Blockbuster. Too many of our restaurants are fast food. The fastest-growing occupation in town may be takeout delivery drivers. You need your car for everything. But the town does have a civic spirit. ​ Saturday's No King’s protest was my third one. Similar to the others, it attracted a good number of people. Perhaps not as many as the first one, but a lively turnout. ​ It was a chance to strike up random conversations and meet new people, something that is hard to do in Enfield. One fellow I met turned out to be an EHS grad from my era. I graduated in 1972, and my newfound friend in 1973. He had a rally-free...
Post a Comment
Read more

PZC approves 70-unit housing development in Thompsonville

Image
  Screen shot from PZC meeting. Site plan of Impact Residential project. Despite parking concerns, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a 70-unit housing development on the former Strand Theater site. The Commission voted 5-2 Thursday. The action allows Impact Residential to proceed with its project, which includes 56 units of affordable housing. The project met opposition due to fears of increased on-street parking, with opponents including Mayor Ken Nelson. At its Dec. 4 meeting, the Council rejected a grant application that would have assisted developer Impact Residential. Nelson suggested allocating the grant to a "parking structure" instead. "We have to address the parking, which is already a problem, and we just can't make it worse," Nelson said at the earlier meeting. But at Thursday's meeting, PZC Chair Lewis Fiore, highlighting the area's designation as a Transit Oriented District (TOD), argued that rejecting the project would undermine t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rebuilding Thompsonville will take housing and new ideas

Image
We're on the cusp of doing something extraordinary with Thompsonville, but we're also steps away from making some bad decisions.  Thompsonville needs help. It has a high percentage of absentee owner buildings. When I graduated from Enfield High School in 1972, some properties that were in bad shape then are still in bad shape. Thompsonville needs investment and housing conversions to condos. We need more owner-occupied. The train station and improved bus transit will help a lot.  The town has already invested considerable effort in revitalizing Thompsonville.  Higgins Park, and their busy schedule of seasonal events, may become a traffic generator for new retail in Thompsonville. The Freshwater Pond improvements are stunning. I walk my dog weekly in the area, and she loves it, and so do I. It's beautiful.  However, these efforts to transform Thompsonville into one of the city's most attractive neighborhoods and an investment hub could easily unravel. Achieving a posi...
Post a Comment
Read more