With commanding views of Long Island Sound, many hope Waterford’s Seaside State Park could be turned into a resort hotel and spa, perhaps as exclusive as Rhode Island’s Ocean House. Photo courtesy of Connecticut DEEP | Justin Scalera photo
Waterfront real estate is often a slam-dunk development opportunity. Seaside State Park has been an exception.
The stately brick buildings on the 32-acre property in Waterford weathered six decades of use as a tuberculosis sanitorium, geriatric care facility and, finally, a home for the developmentally disabled before their closure in 1996.
With its sweeping grounds and commanding views of Long Island Sound, Seaside has been viewed by elected officials and one would-be developer as a potential location for a high-end resort. But in the two-plus decades since its closure, redevelopment attempts have failed to move past the preliminary stages.
Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to announce next steps for the property in September, two months after officials at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said two recent redevelopment proposals failed to meet their requirements.
“This particular property is 32 acres sitting on Long Island Sound,” Waterford First Selectman Daniel Steward said. “You have one of the best environments and there’s a lot of opportunity to make this a very beautiful property.”
Two Decades of Inactivity
Designed by the prominent architect Cass Gilbert, Seaside was originally built in the 1930s as a treatment center for children with tuberculosis. The buildings include a nearly 72,000-square-foot hospital building, 20,280-square-foot nurses’ residence, 7,200-square-foot superintendent’s residence and an 8,320-square-foot duplex house once used by physicians.
The Seaside Regional Center for the Disabled closed in 1996, a year after the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, the buildings have sat vacant.
Former Gov. Jodi Rell’s administration selected Farmington developer Mark Steiner to build a high-end resort on the property in 2010, but former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy cancelled the agreement in 2014, citing lack of progress by the developer.
Instead, Malloy laid out plans for a state park, and instructed the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to pursue a public-private partnership.
In a request for proposals issued in March 2018, the agency sought a partner to ground-lease the property. The requirements included renovation of the existing buildings for up to 100 hotel rooms, and other potential facilities such as a restaurant, meeting space and a spa. And the grounds would remain open to the public as a park.
The 1930s-era buildings at Seaside State Park were designed in a grand style by Cass Gilbert, but years of neglect mean restoration could come with a hefty price tag. Photo courtesy of Connecticut DEEP | Justin Scalera photo
Consultants Recommend Hotel and Spa
A 2016 study by PKF Consulting, now part of CBRE Hotels, concluded there was potential for a profitable development. It recommended the main hospital building be renovated for a hotel, while converting the nurses’ residence into meeting and guest support space. Higher-end multiple-bedroom units could be built in the superintendent’s building and duplex house, PFK recommended.
A 100-room hotel and spa at the property, PKF concluded, could collect $7.5 million in annual revenues, and nearly $2 million in annual net operating income. The analysis was based upon an estimated $21.8 million in total development costs, adjusted to 2020 values. The state’s RFP subsequently estimated project costs as high as $30 million.
Steward, the Waterford first selectman, sees potential for even higher-end hospitality than in the PKF analysis, which projected 60 percent annual occupancy at daily room rates of $200. He pointed to the reconstruction and expansion of the Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, which was completed in 2010. The resort lists rooms at more than $1,000 a night during its peak summer season.
“Overall, the townspeople would like to see a nice property there. My thoughts were a high-end inn,” he said. “When you look at what the Ocean House did in Watch Hill, they put in a beautiful facility and it’s extremely successful.”
But he faulted the state government for letting Seaside fall into disrepair and for failing to communicate with local officials about the reasons for rejecting the two proposals. The state has not publicly released the proposals or identified the developers.
“It seems they could have done a better job of opening up the door and say we could do something rather than nothing,” Steward said. “I’m just not overly impressed with the answers that we were getting.”
Sale or Partnership?
State Rep. Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, said she supports a public-private partnership.
“Whatever we do, it should be done again so that everybody has a say and it’s something that benefits everyone,” McCarty said. “The neighbors and I don’t want to see it overdeveloped, but I do understand that we need to be realistic. You need to have some income to maintain it and keep it moving forward.”
According to a Lamont spokesman, DEEP is researching the reasons for the failed RFP.
“When we have completed the research phase, estimated to conclude in September, we will take that information to local elected officials and the community to discuss next steps,” spokesperson Max Reiss said in an email this week.
State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, filed legislation in 2018 that would have forced the state to sell the property for private development. Formica said this week that a successful reuse plan will require flexibility, given the anticipated costs of environmental abatement and bringing the buildings up to modern building codes.
“Private investors are interested in this property, you’ve just got to give them an opportunity,” Formica said. “The question is: how do you balance aging, almost decrepit historical properties with codes that are becoming more restricting as each year goes by? It’s almost impossible to bring those buildings up to code.”
The state Historic Preservation Office, which regulates changes to properties listed on the National Register, would not support demolition, said Elizabeth Shapiro, the agency’s director of arts, preservation and museums.
