Blumenthal to Meet With Mezzo Today to Talk Renaissance Place

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is scheduled to meet today with Naugatuck officials to be briefed on Renaissance Place, the borough’s downtown renovation project.

The state’s freshmen senator is conducting a tour the Naugatuck Valley today to assess flooding damage in towns like Oxford and Shelton, . Oxford saw major flooding along the Housatonic River with some homes submerged and cars floating down the river, .

Mayor Robert A. Mezzo said Blumenthal contacted the Naugatuck mayor’s office Friday, also seeking information on flood problems here. While there haven’t been any major flooding in Naugatuck Blumenthal has agreed to meet with Mezzo and Jay Carlson, chairman of the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation, Mezzo said.

The Democratic senator is due to visit Town Hall around 4:20 p.m., Mezzo said.

The borough has been seeking funding toward its downtown renovation project, which is billed as a multi-million dollar public-private investment combining residential and commercial ventures.

The first step in the process was a rehabilitation of Parcel C, a 2.2-acre swath of land the borough owns at the corner of Maple and Water streets. St. Mary’s Hospital has pledged it will build a medical facility there, although since the land was once the site of a factory it has to be cleaned up before construction can begin.

The hospital is requesting the borough construct a parking garage on the property to accommodate the medical facility. The borough has sought funding for the garage through the state Office of Policy and Management, although that hasn’t come to fruition as of yet.

Federal funding is likely going to be part of the discussion when Blumenthal meets with the Naugatuck officials today.