Council Unanimously Supports Mystic Education Center Development

GROTON, CT — The Town Council has blessed, indeed expressed excitement, about the re-development of the Mystic Education Center into a mixed-use 'village' that includes apartments and shops for Gen-Z, and beyond, young professionals. That includes workers for companies like Electric Boat, which said Monday it plans to hire nearly 20,000 people in the next decade.

The 240 Oral School Road, Mystic, town of Groton site is a step closer to being realized. On the televised recording of the Committee of the Whole meeting of Jan. 28, the council unanimously agreed to move forward and formalize an agreement with developer Jeff Respler on the Mystic Education Center Development agreement and project overview; the re-imagining of the state-owned property on Oral School Road.

The plan includes up to 850, but no less than, 700 apartments, 100,000 square feet of commercial space including coffee house/internet café, organic market, renovated office space, co-working spaces, high technology R&D space, daycare center, and a restaurant. Also planned is a community recreational center with a pool and gym, and outdoor walking paths, benches, small concert facilities and a rehabilitated launch area on the Mystic River. The project will see new roadway infrastructure.

Respler was quoted as saying back in November of 2019 that housing for EB employees, for example, is needed. Expected to take a year or more to clear each permitting hurdle, the plan has been described as boosting the local economy by generating jobs and more than $3 million in property taxes. That said, in the agreement it is noted that "if any required governmental

approval is denied within 44 months, the developer can pull out.

Developers told the Council that, the "project will be successful if we all work together. A rising tide lifts all boats."

Read the full story on the plan here.