State to close Bergin Prison in Mansfield

The Bergin Correctional Institution on Route 44 in Mansfield, CT across from the former Mansfield Training School, currently houses about 900 inmates. Copyright HTNP.com 2009 file photo

The threat has been hanging in the air for months, but now it’s official. As a budget-cutting measure, the state plans to close Bergin Correctional Institution, the minimum-security prison located on Route 44 in Storrs-Mansfield, CT, according to Michael P. Lawlor of the CT Office of Policy and Management.

Employees, numbering more than 200, had already received pink slips and were told the prison could close July 1,  in the event that negotiations with labor unions – representing all state employees – failed.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has claimed that if labor unions agreed to his demand for concessions, this would cut costs by a total of $1.6 billion over two years.

Steps like closing some prisons – and cutting Educational Cost Sharing Grants and other aid to cities and towns – as well as thousands of layoffs are supposed to make up for a $700 million deficit.

Plans are to relocate Bergin’s 900-plus inmates to other facilities – including one that is currently for women only – and close the Mansfield buildings by mid-August.

The prison is part of state-owned property in the town of Mansfield that is included in the PILOT grant (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) that helps support the town’s budget. University of Connecticut property also is a part of that formula.

Rep. Gregory Haddad has said that closing the prison shouldn’t affect the PILOT payments because the state would still own the property.

The prison originally opened on March 13, 1989 as a “pre-release center” for those who qualified for “Level 2″ classification and coming to the end of their sentence. It offers substance-abuse treatment, literacy instruction and other programs to help the offender make the transition back into society.

The original population was 248 male inmates who were incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, or who had completed a specified percentage of their sentence without incident, had successfully completed furloughs and met other requirements. The originally agreed-upon population cap was 350 inmates and there were to be no sex offenders at this site.

Contrary to widespread belief that the prison housed only embezzlers and the like, the prison has housed those serving time for manslaughter and other violent crimes.

The prison was closed once before, in 1997 when its 350 inmates were redistributed to other facilities, again as a cost-saving measure. But it was re-opened two years later because of a need for more beds and the population rose to 500. Around this time, barbed wire was added to the top of the prison fences.

By February of 2001, when the prison was renamed the Donald T. Bergin Correctional Institution, it had an average inmate population of 650. And today, that number is more than 900.

Posted June 28, 2011

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Officials set to move earth for Storrs Center

Within the last 2 weeks or so the UConn Publications building (shaped like a quonset hut) was torn down. It was the first building to be taken down as the start of Storrs Center Construction begins its first phase. Photo: Roxanne Pandolfi

After years of planning and proposals, Storrs Center project officials will break ground for construction Wednes­day (June 29).

Project developers will be joined by local and state officials for the ceremony at 5 p.m. at the inter­section of Route 195 and Dog Lane, with parking available at E.O. Smith High School across the street.

“The groundbreaking for Storrs Center is a tremendous achieve­ment, especially in the current eco­nomic climate, for the Mansfield Downtown Partnership, the town of Mansfield and the University of Connecticut,” said Leyland Alliance LLC managing member Howard Kaufman.

Leyland Alliance is the master developer for the $220 million mixed- use development, which will include both retail and resi­dential spaces. The groundbreaking will be the ceremonial beginning of construc­tion for phases 1A and 1B, which will include roughly 290 rental apartments and 69,000 square feet of retail space.

Leyland Alliance has hired Edu­cation Realty Trust, or EDR, to manage the residential space.

Gov. Dannel Malloy, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and State Rep. Gregory Haddad, D-Mansfield, are all scheduled to attend the ceremony. Mansfield Mayor Elizabeth “Bet­sy” Paterson, UConn President Susan Herbst, UConn President emeritus Philip Austin and Mans­field Downtown Partnership board of directors President Philip Lodewick are also expected to attend.

The town began looking to boost development in the area al­ong Route 195 a decade ago and formed the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc. in 2001 to over­see and coordinate the project.

“Nearly 10 years in the plan­ning, our vision for an economi­cally vibrant and vital commu­nity downtown is now becoming a reality,” Lodewick said. “The noise of bulldozers is music to our ears, and we look forward to a formal grand-opening of the first phase of a Storrs Center in the fall of 2012.”

Select Physical Therapy, Vanilla Bean Café, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Storrs Automotive, Wings Over Storrs, Travelplanners, Campus Cuts, Body Language, Tailoring by Tima, Cosimo’s Italian Restaurant and Insomnia Cookies have all submitted letters of intent to be located in the new center.

The first round of construc­tion will also include work to Route 195 and Dog Lane and the construction of a parking garage, Village Street and other aspects.

The Downtown Partnership has created a new web site – www.storrscenterconstruction.blogspot.com – to provide updates on road closures and other public adviso­ries associated with construction.

Dog Lane will closed Wednesday at 4:30 for the ceremony and will reopen once the ceremony is com­plete.

Anyone looking to attend is asked to first respond to the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc. at (860) 429-2740 or by e­mail at mdp@mansfieldct.org.

Posted 6-28-2011

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