Southington's Big Build Blocked

0:00It's April 23rd. Welcome to Hartford News Today, powered by AI, I'm Corey with the story. A big development plan in Southington, Connecticut just hit a roadblock. Developer Dominic Carpionato's company wanted to turn over a hundred acres of woodlands into a 114 room hotel, a huge retail, center, and a 100,000 square foot industrial building. They pitched it as a game changer, promising $2.1 million a year in new tax revenue and 360 jobs. The site sits west of Interstate 84 near Exit 31, currently zoned industrial. But the developers argued steep drops, wetlands, and no utilities make straight industrial use tough. They offered nearly $15 million in upgrades like new roads and utilities, plus plans to split the land into six parcels to spark more. Growth down the line. Several residents pushed back hard, especially folks on Curtis Street worried about traffic

1:00jams. They said ramps off the highway already back up for two to four light cycles at rush hour, and adding shops and warehouses would make it worse. One neighbor called out impatient drivers running reds. A few voices supported it, pointing to the tax cash that could ease property bills and warning that pure industrial might bring even bigger headaches. Still, after a late night hearing on Tuesday, the Planning and Zoning Commission shot down the zone change. This leaves the land in limbo for now, but Carpionados no stranger to big builds. He's got apartments greenlit nearby, and more projects cooking. Watch for what comes next in this economic tug of war.