OLD LYME — The Old Lyme Shopping Center is currently for sale via an online auction opening Sept. 6 (previously Aug. 23.) At the time of writing (7:10am), the highest bid is $2,750,000 but it also states on the site that the reserve has not yet been met.
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.
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
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.
It’s a great potential development for OL.
Hopefully the new buyers can pursue a vision consistent with the outline provided by the Halls Road Improvement Committee (HRIC) which will jumpstart the transformation of Halls Road.
Old Lyme deserves a city center with its own restaurants and shops that town members can visit.
Halls Road has inexplicably been ignored for too long.
It definitely needs a massive makeover I see great potential if done right as a?resident I have a few of my own ideas I hope this goes forward.