As the deadline draws near for a decision on the proposed Lifestyle Center which would be located near I-691 on the Cheshire/Southington line, questions and concerns linger.

Now I received information from Tim of the Carpenters Union regarding workplace violations that occurred during construction of The Shoppes of Farmington Valley in Canton a few years ago. I have included the hard copy reports for you to read.

Now this story has been in some of the local media, but I thought I would make it available to my readers, because not all of you receive the local papers.

Apparently, some of the companies that did work at the Canton Shoppes did not pay overtime; failed to pay prevailing wage (that sounds familiar) or payrolls were not complete or not filed at all for certain weeks. There was also a failure to pay all monies due.

In fact one violation filed by the Labor Department which you will be able to read on the actual report below involved over $100,000 in non-payment of overtime wages.

There is also the report on the crane accident, where a crane tipped over and a propane fire in the area of the Kohls Department store.

The point? not to bash anyone, especially W/S, but to hold these peoples feet to the fire to make sure proper wages are paid and workplace standards are safe. Now anyone knows things can happen during construction, but these violations could have been prevented. They were not acts of nature or beyond anyones control.

Now as far as the flack about the housing at the Shoppes at Cheshire site, I think I may have a solution. As most of you know by reading my last post “Apartments to Condos? W/S Development is now proposing 140 units of condominiums instead of the original 160 units of apartments which were to be several high rise buildings. I believe they are switching from the apartment idea to the condo’s because of some peoples’ concerns about the housing phase of this project.

To be honest, I would have rather have seen the apartments than the condo’s because most people who rent apartments are single and/or just starting out on their own or just can’t afford or don’t want a home in the first place.

With the condo’s starting at $325,000 and up, I believe this will attract families, albeit small families, but families with children. There is the “empty nester” condo complex being proposed, but how many empty nesters will it actually attract. Remember, to be able to afford a $325,000 condo, a person would have to be making (alone) at least $80,000 per year, so you know these condos at those prices will attract a dual income setup and that usually means a man and woman with a child.

I remember the development that I moved to in 1984 which is also near Southington, was supposed to have over 300 homes. That never materialized because the developer abandoned the project. This developer had grandiose plans: he dug a moat around the entire development for starters, and had plans for a heliport and a SCHOOL.

You know what, that may be the solution to the people who are concerned that the housing proposed at the Shoppes at Cheshire may overcrowd the school system. Have the developer build a school– a combined middle/high school, because more than likely the children who may live in this condo housing will be middle or high school age, and construct a small firehouse substation.

The developer did offer the Cheshire Police Department room for a small police substation, quit thinking about it and take the developer up on the offer will you?

Let’s face it, most people move to Cheshire because of the school system. They don’t move here to work unless they work for the prison or the town government, but that is a small minority of people. The majority move here so their children can go to the Cheshire schools, period. So when housing is available, I am betting 9 out 10 people will have a child.

Having the developer construct a school is not that  much of an off the beaten path of an idea, because as I stated above, it was being seriously considered by the original developer where I reside.

In fact when Stew Leonard was going to build a store in Orange on Marsh Hill Road, he offered to widen that road from one lane to four at a cost of millions of dollars!!

If some people really believe our school system will be overwhelmed or burdened by this housing proposal than having the developer construct a small school may be what is needed. We definitely will need a firehouse or have to make a deal with Southington, so just expand the idea. People must remember, this development will take place on just one parcel, 100 acres out of a 400 acre piece of property.

So it is highly likely that more housing may be constructed in the future, so another school built by the developer in that area right from the get go, makes sense.

So here is the report.

P.S. I hope to have my drawing of the reconstruction of the Ball and Socket Factory into my version of the Lifestyle Center finished before the end of the week.

Click Here to read the report.