Can Mansfield put life back into “ghost town” of Four Corners?

Both this gas station and Kathy Johns restaurant at Four Corners now sit empty. Photo © by Brenda Sullivan. ----------

The Four Corners area has suffered from serious water and sewer environmental issues for at least 20 years, which has hampered the town’s ability to pursue development in this area.

The village of Four Corners is located around the intersection of Routes 195 and Route 44.

The town also has been under pressure by the state Department of Environmental Protection to address remediation of water and sewer issues, either on a voluntary or state-mandated basis.

Arguments in favor of bringing sewer and water services to an area now largely served by wells have focused on addressing the DEP’s issues, bringing in more businesses - and their tax revenue, and creating a more attractive “gateway” to the town of Mansfield and the University of Connecticut Storrs campus.

This building at Four Corners formerly housed a pizza take-out and liquor store. Photo © by Brenda Sullivan.

Lately, the Four Corners area has sometimes been referred to as a “ghost town” because of the increasing number of empty buildings at the intersection, including a garage, a building that previously housed two businesses - a pizza take-out and a liquor store, and most recently Kathy Johns Restaurant.

Several successful and longstanding businesses also are located in the Four Corners area, however, including Zenny’s Restaurant, the relatively new CVS, a car repair service, a gas station with a Dunkin Donuts, a hair salon, a natural foods store, and a plaza that includes a grocery store, liquor store, restaurant and a new business, the Friendly Fire gaming center - as well as a bank across from the plaza, and a car repair/gas station business and gas station/convenience store on either side of  the plaza.

Still, town leaders and many residents would like to see more tax revenues generated from this part of town.

And now, town residents will have an opportunity to give their input on proposals for the Four Corners area at a community informational meeting organized by the Town Council-appointed Four Corners Sewer/Water Advisory Committee.

At this meeting, discussion will focus on environmental, economic and aesthetic issues and proposed improvements related to the Four Corners area.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, in the Council Chambers of the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building at 4 South Eagleville Road (Route 275).

CVS was built on the site of a former gas station. It is one of the more successful businesses at Four Corners. Photo © by Brenda Sullivan.

The meeting will start with an opportunity for informal discussion with advisory committee members and town staff, followed by a presentation - the current proposal for public water and sewer at Four Corners, the potential benefits of the project and the challenges of completing such a project will be discussed - and then by a question and answer period.

For more information, contact the Advisory Committee Chair Gene Nesbitt at ghnesbitt@charter.net or Public Works Director Lon Hultgren at 860-429-3332 or HultgrenLR@mansfieldct.org.

Posted May 14, 2009 - Tell them you read about it in Mansfield Today!

Editor’s Note: Did you know that Four Corners is actually the name of one of about a dozen villages that make up the town of Mansfield? Others include  Storrs (so, not everyone who lives in Mansfield lives in Storrs), Spring Hill, Atwoodville and Merrow…  how many of Mansfield’s villages can you name?