3 minute read

Ivy League To Main Street

East Lyme looks once again to Yale Urban Design Workshop

CT&C is well aware of the value a main street provides its town. They are crucial centers of public gathering, economic development, and civic amenities. East Lyme is looking to an old partner in the Yale Urban Design Workshop in order to reinvigorate this crucial nexus of municipal life.

Founded 30 years ago at the Yale School of Architecture, the Yale Urban Design Workshop is a mostly student run design center that focuses on creating or fostering a sense of community in towns and cities. Their clients over the past three decades have reached as far as Jordan, Sweden and China, while the bulk of projects have been much closer to home.

East Lyme is no stranger to the Workshop. The Yale group has worked on projects in 1997 and 1998. The first on a general strategy that included the formation of the Niantic Main Street group, and two other mural projects. This time around, the group was hired as part of a larger downtown revitalization efforts.

From an article in the Day, it was the Niantic Main Street group that decided to bring the Yale group back to help with the revitalization. For several months, representatives from Yale have been working on background research as well as engaging in talks with those who live and work in the area, per the Day article.

Two of the big decisions they will have to make moving forward is what to do about the old police station and the recently shuttered Niantic Cinemas, which have closed after seven decades in business.

The police station is a big concern for the town simply because the property has too many issues to simply be reused. Mold, asbestos and lead paint make the costs overwhelming, as noted by First Selectman Kevin Seery. It is currently owned by Dominion Energy, but they are holding off on moving forward until the completion of the work.

The work is still in its early stages, and work will be ongoing throughout the spring, according to the Day. Their previous projects in East Lyme and around the state have shown successful, so many will be waiting with baited breath to see the path forward for their main street revitalization.

Only time will be able to tell if the work is going to be successful. But given the Yale Urban Design Workshop’s track record of success in Connecticut and in the world, this will certainly be a project worth remembering.

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