[Updated] CREC Aggressively Pursues Avon Cider Mill Property Site to Build Larger Reggio School

After some resistance from the Avon Planning and Zoning Commission about relocating the Reggio Magnet School of the Arts to Avon Park North, the Capitol Region Education Council plans on submitting a site plan to the commission to build a larger school on the current Avon Cider Mill property.

"Yes, we are moving forward with that," Don Walsh, the education council's deputy executive director, said on Tuesday. "We will submit an application soon to Planning and Zoning, hopefully in May, and we're very excited about that."

The council signed a "purchase and sale" agreement with Dr. Roy Beebe, the owner of the 59 Waterville Rd. property, about a month ago, Walsh said.

Under the agreement, the council will buy between 8 and 9 acres of the 10.6-acre parcel, Walsh said. The council plans to apply for a subdivision on the property, so that Beebe will still own the remaining acres where the Avon Cider Mill and the yellow Le Jardin building are located. The parcel is appraised at $233,333.33 an acre, Walsh said, which would bring the total cost for more than 8 acres above $1,866,667.

"On those 8 acres, we will build the Reggio Magnet School of the Arts," Walsh said.

Walsh said that the education council plans on building a 63,000-square-foot magnet school that is two stories high. Though a site plan has not been drafted yet, Walsh said that the school would likely include "amenities such as athletic fields and nature trails."

But first the council must pass through five stages of the application process, starting with the Avon Planning and Zoning Commission. The council also has to select a general contractor, which will not happen until all project applications are approved. Walsh said the council has been working closely with Avon Town Planner Steven Kushner for guidance on the planning and zoning process.

The commission never officially ruled whether or not it was in favor of the council's interest in Ensign Bickford property, not far from where the 245-student Reggio school stands now, Walsh said.  But many members of the commission said in previous meetings that they did not want a school in that central Avon location because it would be too close to possible Avon Village Center development in the future.

Walsh said that the division of opinion on the board was "a problem because we need to get the school up and want to have a safe site" and that the council was not sure if the planning and zoning commission would pass a site plan application on the Avon Park North property. The education council projects a growing population and anticipates having 435 students in the proposed new school. Walsh said the council wants the school to be ready for students by Sept. 2013.

When the council first came to the town and expressed interest in building a larger Reggio school in Avon, the town suggested a few locations. The Cider Mill property was one of them and Beebe happened to be interested in selling.Walsh said that the council is "pursuing the site aggressively" and has confidence that the proposal will be approved.

“We’re very optimistic. It's a beautiful site and we hope all goes well," Walsh said. "It's a little easier to find. For people coming west, it’s practically at the foot of [Route] 44. It's easy to give directions to and closer to towns on the other side of mountain…. For kids coming from Farmington, it’s pretty direct."

Although the council initially favored the Avon Park North site, Walsh said, "We try to be where the community would like us to be and we have no problem at all with the [new] location."

The council is under the pressure of time to get the school approved and built, and Walsh said, "We hope to break ground on the project by March of 2012," which would ideally give the council enough time to finish the project in time for the fall of 2013.

If the Waterville Road site does not work out, Walsh said that the education council is considering other locations in Avon, as well as the Connecticut Light & Power property in Simsbury, which is owned by local businessman and past fifth district candidate Mark Greenburg.