1 King Place (Former Meriden Wallingford Hospital)

A key redevelopment site in the Meriden TOD District, One King Place is located within the City’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Zoning District. The site includes a 245,000 square foot building occupying two city blocks, a former parking garage, and land totaling 5.64 acres. The parcel is zoned TOD-Hanover, which allows for mixed use development and the adaptive reuse of historic structures. The property is located in the state-designated Enterprise Zone. The City acquired the property through tax foreclosure in 2014.

Site History

1 King Place, located in the southwestern quadrant of the Meriden city limits, had been used primarily as a hospital for nearly 100 years. Hospital operations ceased in the 1990s and the site has since remained mostly vacant. Prior to use as a hospital, 1 King Place had several uses including a bank, single-family homes, and a public school dating back to the late 1800s.

Use as a hospital began on a portion of the site in the early 1900s and through the 1980s. Following a merger with a private hospital in 1991, hospital operations at 1 King Place were moved to a new hospital facility in Meriden, now the Midstate Medical Center located on Lewis Avenue north of I-691.

In 1998, the hospital owners sold the property and in just over a year, the new owner filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Since that time, the property has sat mostly vacant and is in disrepair. The property was conveyed to Bradley Research Center, LLC in February 2004 and on January 7, 2014, the City of Meriden acquired the site through tax foreclosure.

Site Information

The property, zoned TOD-Hanover subdistrict, is located within a highly residential area within the Meriden TOD District. An appraisal conducted on the property in September 2013 found the highest and best use to be a senior assisted residential community or an educational facility. State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development funding has been used to assess and remove asbestos in selected areas of former hospital building. Significant environmental hazards were found at the site and were addressed as part of site redevelopment. The City secured a FY 2015 USEPA brownfield assessment grant to assist with site reuse planning and community engagement as part of the pre-development stage of the project.

Prior environmental assessments and limited cleanup efforts revealed numerous environmental concerns at the site, including: underground storage tank (UST) systems; asbestos; lead; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); and miscellaneous waste (e.g., universal, solid, hazardous). Redevelopment of this brownfield property is a key priority to the city due to the blighting effect on the surrounding neighborhood and the potential public safety hazard the site poses. The Meriden City Council recently approved a Developer Agreement with One King LLC, a Connecticut-based developer seeking to transform the former hospital site into a mixed use development including residential, medical and commercial/retail uses. This is a public private partnership whereby the City will continue with site cleanup in order to facilitate private development at the site.

Year 1 Development Plan

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