The Day: March 2023

Details on e Riverbank and other projects shared at New London Landmarks meeting

BY Johana Vazquez, PUBLISHED March 29, 2023 | VIEW ARTICLE

New London ― At an eventful New London Landmarks annual meeting Tuesday, it was announced that Tox Brewing Co. is moving to Bank Street and the Gareld Mills project has begun remediation of its building.

The meeting was held at one of the three adjacent historic buildings owned by developers High Tide Capital at 137, 133 and 123 Bank St. e buildings are being restored and turned into luxury apartments and space for businesses to create a collective development called e Riverbank.

High Tide Capital was this year’s recipient of Landmarks’ Restoration Award for its work on Bank Street and its most recently completed work at the Manwaring Building at 225 State St. where Connecticut College students are being housed.

Landmarks Executive Director Laura Natusch said for many years developers have not taken part in the costly eort to restore historic buildings. She said she hopes High Tide Capital’s work inspires others to do the same.

“These buildings have been vacant for so long,” she said. “It feels like we are nally turning the corner.”

Historian Tom Schuch received the Cli Stone award for his years of research and work on the Black Heritage Trail. Constance Kristok received the Volunteer of the Year Award for her documentary about the history of New London’s LGBTQ+ community called “Holding Space for Each Other.”

Landmarks Intern Leslie Ann Melendez presented a video montage as a preview to a project called “Bridging the gap with stories” that will feature the oral histories of two dozen people who grew up in the city’s income-restricted housing projects.

Natusch said she and Melendez would also be working on a documentary in the summer about Puerto Rican migration into the city.

e meeting’s featured speaker was Brian Lyman, the managing broker for Parker Benjamin, a real estate advising and development rm. e rm has renovated 38 Green St. into small studio apartments and is working for High Tide Capital on the Riverbank development and construction. Lyman accepted the restoration award on behalf of High Tide.

Lyman said his rm only works on buildings that have existed pre-1936 and are typically blighted in order to receive certain tax credits to help fund the renovation. He said a lot of infrastructure work goes into the projects with new electric, gas service and sewer systems.

In a presentation, Lyman showed slides of what people can expect from Riverbank. He said the small building at 137 Bank St. would be home to the record store e Telegraph.

At 123 Bank St., the site of the former New London Antiques Center, Lyman said Tox Brewing Co., currently situated at 635 Broad St., would move into the rst oor and apartments would be on the top two oors. He said there will be a roof deck on top where residents will have “spectacular views of the harbor.”

At the former site of Jason’s furniture, or 133 Bank St., commercial space for a restaurant is still available on the ground oor and the top three oors will have apartments. Between both buildings there will be 32 one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments.

Thee apartments are expected to open its doors to its rst residents this summer. More information on the development can be found at its website.

Lyman said his rm is also working with Litcheld-based Park Lane Group on the renovation of the Gareld Mill complex at 90 Gareld Avenue into workforce and aordable housing. He said building material at the site will be undergoing abatement for a few months before construction can start.

After the meeting, a group of attendees participated in a tour led by Lyman of the construction underway at 123 Bank St. and stood among exposed steel framing of what will be future apartments.

Thee attendees talked about how the building once served as the location of Olympic Sporting Goods where they would try on new shoes. Felix Reyes, the city’s director of Planning and Development, reminded everyone that 133 Bank St., the building with the “gorilla” mural in the back, was the subject of a re last year.

He said the developers called the next day after the re to re-instate their commitment to the development.