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DATE CHANGE: Old Lyme Shopping Center Goes Up For Auction, Now Sept. 6-8

August 17, 2022 by 2 Comments

The Old Lyme Marketplace is scheduled to be sold via an online auction. File photo.

OLD LYME — UPDATED 8/15: We note today from the online listing for this property that the date of the auction has been postponed from the previously announced Aug. 23-25 to Sept. 6-8. There is no explanation given on the listing for the delay.

The Old Lyme Shopping Center has been put up for sale via an online auction opening Sept. 6 (previously Aug. 23.)

Ten-x.com’s NorthEast Private Client Group is handling the sale and the property details are listed as follows:

Primary Property Type: Retail
Gross Area (Sq. Ft.): 50,223
Year Built: 1964
Occupancy: 77%
Occupancy as of Date: 07/06/2022
Lot Size (Acres): 5.22
Parking Count: 154
Bidding opens Aug. 23 and closes Aug. 25, with the starting bid set at $1.5 million.
The property is being marketed per the agent’s description as, “Ideally located immediately off exit 70 on I-95 (59,000 ADT) on US Route 1 (11,000 ADT) in the heart of a primary retail and commercial corridor.” The description also notes, “Annual consumer spending within a 5-mile radius surpasses $435,000,000.”
The potential sale was mentioned at yesterday’s Old Lyme Board of Selectmen meeting by members of the Halls Road Improvement Committee (HRIC), who were presenting their proposal for a Halls Road Overlay District (HROD) to the selectmen.
Asked this morning for her reaction to the planned sale, HRIC Chair Edie Twining responded by email, “If you look at the announcement, they go on about how convenient to the highway it is.  [That could likely mean] More gas stations??

She added, “So until that overlay [the proposed HROD] is in place, this [property] is most appealing to highway service plazas and the like. If we had the overlay, highway-focused developers would have to compete for the space with those interested in pursuing our vision:- retail up front with multi-family residential, with its better ROI.”

Twining concluded optimistically, “We are aiming to submit our application for the Halls Road Overlay District in September. After some productive meetings with the [Old Lyme] Zoning Commission, I am hopeful that this will become a reality this year.”
Editor’s Note: We will have more on the Halls Road Overlay District in a subsequent article.
Filed Under: Business, Old Lyme, Top Story

Comments

  1. Howard Margules says
    August 2, 2022 at 2:47 pm

    The news that the Old Lyme Marketplace is for sale raises a number of
    questions, but my first reaction is, wow, yes, change does actually
    come to Old Lyme, whether we like it or not. This change could be a
    good thing. Certainly the 1950 style, dark brown strip mall fronted by
    a broken foundation is not the image we envision for OL. and may not
    be missed. But, the concern is that a developer, rather than serving
    the needs of the OL community, will aim to serve the traffic on I95
    instead. The marketing hints in this direction: “Old Lyme Shopping
    Center is located immediately off exit 70 on Interstate I95 (ADT of
    59,000) on US Route 1, with 11,000 cars passing daily in the heart of
    Old Lyme’s primary retail and commercial corridor.”

    The next question is: How does the sale impact the town’s plans for
    Halls Road? The primary reason the Halls R0ad Improvement Committee (HRIC) produced a master plan is to assure that any development in the neighborhood will mainly focus on the needs of the town’s residents. The HRIC took a bottoms up approach. First, by obtaining input from residents prior to generating the master plan rather than the reverse. The master plan was produced with input from the community employing surveys, meetings and open
    houses. Once implemented it will provide the framework to assure that
    the town’s needs are served over the traffic on I95.

    I encourage the towns’ residents to become familiar with the work of
    the HRIC, especially the zoning changes that we are proposing.
    Please visit the town website for more details. https://www.oldlyme-ct.gov/halls-road-improvements-committee.

    Howard Margules HRIC

    Reply
  2. anne brandenburg says
    August 2, 2022 at 6:09 pm

    wow….this is exciting. Let’s make this happen Old Lyme, with our input and a revamped space for a nice lunch spot with indoor seating and an art space to align with our town’s history….space for current merchants and a facelift for our lovely town.

    Reply

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