Middletown Town Council Green Lights West Side Redevelopment Plan

The Middletown Town Council on Monday night officially endorsed the West Main Road-Coddington Highway redevelopment project that incorporates the former Navy Lodge surplus land.

The Middletown Town Council on Monday night unanimously endorsed plans to convert the former Navy Lodge property and adjacent public lands at the West Main Road-Coddington Highway junction into a village-style center for business, retail and government center uses. The vote by resolution came at the request of Middletown Planning Director Ronald Wolanski, who presented the 110-page finalized conceptual plan two weeks ago and requested the council's endorsement in order for the project to move forward. “What were doing tonight is putting our thumb print on a long-term plan,” Town Administrator Shawn Brown said prior to the council's vote. Brown explained that the council's official endorsement is needed for town planners and other officials…

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5 Things To Know Today

Today: Middletown Town Council to Vote on West Side Plan

A look at what's happening in and around Middletown.

Start the week off right with yoga surrounded by nature. Tickets are now on sale for the Maher Center’s annual Cocktail Hour Fundraiser on Oct. 16 at the Hyatt Regency-Newport on Goat Island. In town government, the Middletown Town Council and the Committee for the Arts have meetings today. The Town Council will be asked to endorse the West Side Development Master Plan. How’s this Monday morning commute shaping up? Check the weather here. On this date in 1932, Iraq won its independence.

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What's Next for Navy Surplus Lands? [VIDEO]

Julie Oakley of the Aquidneck Island Reuse Planning Authority and Richard Adams, chairman of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, speak further after last week's meeting.

After nearly two years of tightly choreographed public meetings, hearings and comment gathering, the three Aquidneck Island communities reached a unanimous consensus Thursday on how to best use roughly 175 acres of west side land parcels surplussed by the Navy. The final vote green lights the package of five proposals to be submitted to the United States Department of Defense by Aug. 19 for final federal approvals. Perhaps no one was more relieved to see how smoothly talks and planning went upon last week's vote than Julie Oakley, the Aquidneck Island Reuse Planning Authority (AIRPA) Communities Planning Coordinator. Oakley worked with each of the three communities both individually and collectively to come up with the five separate plans…

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AIRPA Votes to Submit Final Conveyance Plan for Navy Surplus Land

Final public comments and endorsements from all three Aquidneck Island communities were received Thursday night, as AIRPA voted to submit its plan for five Navy surplus land to the federal government.

Two years of planning that included about 20 town meetings and public hearings across Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth culminated Thursday night at CCRI-Newport with unanimous community endorsements on how to best put nearly 200 acres of Navy surplus land to use. The Aquidneck Island Reuse Planning Authority (AIRPA) board that's comprised of representatives from all three municipalities also formally voted to submit the finalized proposal to the federal government for the conveyance of five Navy surplus land parcels. "We really are very lucky and blessed that this process has gone so smoothly," said Julie Oakley, AIRPA's Property Reuse Coordinator, who has seen federal-to-local land conveyance processes in other communities encounter …

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Portsmouth Moves Ahead to Get Its Share of Navy Surplus Land

The Portsmouth Town Council voted 5-1 Monday night to choose the recommended economic development conveyance mechanism for Tank Farms 1 and 2.

The Portsmouth Town Council approved the recommended conveyance for the Navy's Tank Farm Land 1 and 2 at Monday's council meeting. The vote was 5-1 with Paul Kesson opposed and Liz Pedro abstained. The approval is contingent, however, upon an answer to the town solicitor about any cleanup costs associated with the site. The town solicitor will return to the council at a later date with an answer about whether or not the town will be financially responsible for any cleanup. The Aquidneck Island Reuse Planning Authority (AIRPA), as the federally-recognized local redevelopment authority, along with their consultant RKG Associates, have been working on a draft reuse plan for several months that involves Middletown, Portsmouth and Newport. In …

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Traffic Circles at Key Intersections? Middletown Must Decide

The Middletown Town Council will meet Monday night to discuss traffic controls for Two-Mile Corner. Are you in favor of roundabouts on West Main Road at Coddington Highway and East Main Road?

Proposals for roundabout traffic circles at two locations on West Main Road are moving forward in municipal planning discussions. The Middletown Town Council is scheduled to meet Monday at 5 p.m. to discuss the proposal. A copy of a presentation from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (DOT) to Middletown officials on Wednesday, June 22, is available to view in the image gallery at upper right. The Town of Middletown's plans for redeveloping the former Navy Lodge parcel with the three adjacent municipal properties includes traffic control designs for two roundabouts on West Main Road at Coddington Highway and at Two-Mile Corner, where West and East Main roads meet. The council met with RIDOT officials on Wednesday to discuss the …

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Middletown Seeks Public Input on West Main-Coddington Redevelopment Plan

Middletown's Planning Department is seeking public input through July 13, when the Planning Board will hold a public workshop to review the redevelopment plan.

What do you think about having a village-style town center at West Main Road and Coddington Highway—where traffic roundabouts, two- and three-story buildings with retail, office space and municipal uses, residential housing and a town common come together? You’ve got a few weeks to tell Middletown planners what you think. As the conveyance process to acquire the old Navy lodge surplus property moves full steam ahead this summer, Middletown is seeking public input on its proposal to develop that property and abutting municipal land into a "village style" mixed use town center. Planning Board Chairman Jan Eckhart announced at Monday’s Town Council meeting that public comments are to be accepted through July 13, when the Planning Board holds …

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