More input sought on Coast Guard Museum plans
But hearing on environmental impact failed to draw anyone from the public
New London — No one from the public showed up Thursday night to a hearing intended to solicit public input on the environmental impacts of the National Coast Guard Museum project planned for the downtown New London waterfront.
The hearing, held at the Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut, was required as part of a supplemental environmental assessment that has to be completed before construction on the museum can start.
The environmental review “aims to look at a project early on so that impacts can be avoided and minimized to the greatest extent possible before the final stroke of the pen is on the paper and it becomes much more difficult to do so,” said Jeanine Gouin of Milone & MacBroom Inc., which the Coast Guard Museum Association retained to do the review.
The site of the estimated $100 million museum is in a flood plain, which complicates the design and construction process.
Environmental assessments were performed in 2002, 2008 and 2014, which concluded in a finding of no significant impact. It was after the 2014 assessment that the land adjacent to Union Station was transferred from the City of New London to the Coast Guard.
The supplemental assessment will draw upon the review done in 2014, and focus in on the specific aspects of the structure of the museum, its layout, its footprint, its location on the site — details that weren’t available three years ago, Gouin said.
The assessment will evaluate the impacts related to construction and operation of the museum, including the acquisition of 14,200 square feet of land that the museum association is seeking. The group wants to acquire about 2,000 square feet of land south of the site that is owned by the city, and about 12,200 square feet of land that is owned by the state, about 8,900 square feet of which is covered by the City Pier platform.
Current plans for the museum call for creating a bulkhead along the edge of the Thames River and filling in behind that to create a bit more land, and proposes demolishing City Pier plaza to help the public better engage with the waterfront.
The assessment also will look at current and proposed projects in downtown New London, such as the expansion of the Cross Sound Ferry Terminal and the proposed construction of a pedestrian bridge intended to provide safe access to the waterfront.
Milone & MacBroom anticipates publishing a draft version of the assessment along with public comments in the fall. Public comments will be accepted until July 18 and may be sent to NCGMA, C/O Milone & MacBroom Inc., Attn: Jeanine Gouin, 99 Realty Drive, Cheshire, CT 06410; they also may be sent by fax to (203) 272-9733 or emailed to jgouin@mminc.com. The final assessment is expected in late 2017.
“This doesn’t mean that this is a ticket to go and build the museum,” Gouin said, explaining the project still needs to go through permitting processes and additional vetting.
Current designs for the museum envision a partially glass building that spans 70,000 to 80,000 square feet and has five, potentially six stories. However, museum association officials and the lead architect for the project have stressed that the design of the museum is not final.