City Council Approves Redevelopment Plan

The City Council has approved the redevelopment plan for the 60-acre Englewood Industrial Park, but in doing so has opened us to what will most likely be a series of long and expensive lawsuits.

The $500 million plan changes the area's zoning to “mixed-use”, and calls for building two hotels, two office buildings, residences, and retail stores in the sixty-acre site bounded by Route 4 to the north and Route 95 to the south.

Proponents of the plan expect the five-year project to clean up an underutilized and contaminated industrial site, bring new jobs and residents to the city, and increase tax revenue by over $3.5 million after allowing for the costs of increased services provided to the area.

Opponents, including Councilman Michael Wildes, feel the project is moving along too quickly without adequate review. They see increased traffic and pollution from as many as 6000 new cars each day and question whether the projected increase in tax revenues will be realized. They are also sympathetic to the current businesses in the area that will be displaced by the project. These property owners have filed a lawsuit against the city charging that the plan is unlawful.

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