Video of Wykeham Rise zoning hearing available

WASHINGTON — A video recording of the July 19 Washington Zoning Commission public hearing for the Wykeham Rise LLC development plan, at 101 Wykeham Road, Washington, will air on CTV-192 at 9 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The program is the first in a series of four Washington Zoning Commission videos related to the proposed Wykeham Rise Inn.

Wykeham Rise, founded in 1903 on 27 acres near the Washington green, was originally a school for girls that held an important role in the local community until it closed in 1943.

The school reopened between 1963 and the early 1980s.

In 1989 the property gained notoriety when it was rented as a rehearsal venue for the Rolling Stones during their “Steel Wheels” tour.

In 1992 the school became home to the Swiss Hospitality Institute Cesar Ritz. Then, in 2008, Erika Klauer purchased Wykeham Rise with the intention of transforming the former school into a $70 million dollar luxury inn, restaurant and spa, a development plan that quickly became a controversial subject that has embroiled Washington residents, hotel developers and town officials in lengthy legal battles.

In January 2017, a sudden and unexplained fire destroyed the property’s unoccupied main building.

The video recording of the public hearing for 101 Wykeham Rise LLC was produced by Washington resident Louise van Tartwijk on behalf of Northeastern CT Community TV, a local community access channel on Charter Spectrum 192 and Frontier Vantage 6054.

The video has been done as a community service and as a historic document. A video recording of the July 23 Washington Zoning Commission public hearing for the Wykeham Rise LLC will air at 9 a.m. on Sept. 8 and 9, and again on the mornings of Sept. 15 and 16.