Southington Spends $2M To Preserve Downtown Parking
SOUTHINGTON, CT — With more than $32 million in reserve, Southington officials have approved tapping into that caché to purchase a vacant bank branch site and preserve its Main Street parking situation.
As a result, the former Bank of America property at 22 Main St., Southington, now is owned by the town, with the Southington Town Council agreeing to purchase the location for slightly more than $2 million.
The official decision to buy the land was actually made back on Sept. 20 at a special Southington Town Council meeting done via Zoom.
It was approved 7-1, with Democratic Councilman Chris Palmieri the lone dissenter.
Councilmen cited the town charter with being allowed to make such a purchase from Southington's $32 million "rainy day" fund, a purchase that was also authorized by the Southington Board of Finance.
Often, such purchases are decided at the polls by voters.
On Oct. 17, the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the purchase as part of what is called an "8-24 referral."
This ruling, essentially, states the PZC agrees the purchase of the site is in line with the town's plan of conservation and development.
Southington Town manager Alex Ricciardone briefed the PZC on the reasons behind the purchase, which is actually four separate parcels.
He said the Bank of America shuttered three years ago and the area has been vacant since.
Ricciardone said that the parcel has served as a de facto public parking lot, with room for 83 vehicles.
With Southington's downtown home to several large events such as the Apple Harvest Festival, the Southington Farmers Market, and Music on the Green, the parking area is well used.
Fearing the loss of this parking area, the town opted to purchase the site.
"Bank of America shut down this facility, I believe, it was three or four years ago, right when Covid happened. They never reopened it. Never had plans to reopen it," Ricciardone said.
When town officials recently noticed the site was being marketed by Bank of America for a possible auction, they decided to act, Ricciardone said.
"People really got a little bit nervous. That parcel had about 83 spots on it, a good chunk of our municipal parking downtown," he said.
A loss of parking should that site be sold to another developer would hurt local businesses in that area as well, with Ricciardone saying it would be "devastating" to lose that much parking.
According to Ricciardone, the town was outbid for the site, but Bank of America opted to sell to Southington as an act of goodwill, especially considering the community was upset when it closed.
He said the decision to spend $2 million was not an easy one, but one the town felt was necessary to keep the parking situation stable there.
"We know this is detrimental if we lose the parking. We know this is a lot of taxpayer money," Ricciardone said.
The PZC ruled such a purchase is in line with Southington's development plan because it supports enhancements to the downtown area and economic development.
"This is our downtown and I think we all have a duty to make sure that that downtown receives every benefit," Southington PZC Chairman Robert Hammarsley said.
"It is a significant amount of money, but, that said, it's a significant piece of property in our town."
For the minutes of the Oct. 17 Southington Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, click on this link.
For the minutes of the Sept. 20 Southington Town Council meeting, click on this link.
