On January 8, the solar company filed an option agreement to purchase the 271.51-acre property from current owner Byron Brook Country Club LLC, the firm that had proposed a luxury resort for the Norwich, Conn., property in the early 2000s. The club project never came to fruition and was withdrawn in 2011.
Aurora Solar LLC, a Portland, Ore.-based solar company, has secured a purchase option for 271.51 acres of farmland and woodland property that was part of the defunct Byron Brook Country Club plan for a luxury golf course and residential resort in Norwich, Conn., the New London, Conn.-based The Day reported.
Aurora Solar filed a memorandum of option on the city land records on January 8, stating that the company has an option agreement to purchase the property from current owner Byron Brook Country Club LLC, the New York firm that had proposed a luxury resort for the property in the early 2000s. The club project had received local planning permits but never came to fruition and was withdrawn in 2011, The Day reported.
The property has been for sale since the plan was withdrawn, with the price announced at $13.75 million initially. No price was listed for the solar firm’s option or purchase of the property, which comprises several large tracts of land, including the former Tarryk and DoLittle farms on Canterbury Turnpike and Lawler Lane. The option agreement was reached July 13, 2017, and expires July 13, 2018, The Day reported.
“The property has been for sale for several years, and it’s currently under option to the party indicated on the agreement,” said attorney Glenn Carberry, who represents Byron Brook.
Carberry said he could not comment on Aurora’s possible plans and could not disclose the proposed purchase price, The Day reported.
Aurora Solar is a subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables, which develops various wind and solar projects under various LLC names, said Paul Copleman, communications manager for Avangrid Renewables. The company also is a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc., which owns United Illuminating, Copleman said.
The company entered into the option agreement to study the viability of a possible solar project there. Existing Eversource transmission lines made the property attractive, he said, but it’s too early in the research process to say whether a project would be viable there, The Day reported.
The former club property is in a Planned Development District. City Planner Deanna Rhodes said she has not been contacted by Aurora Solar. According to the zoning regulations, any electrical substation generating greater than 5 megawatts proposed in the zone would require a special permit with a public hearing, The Day reported.
Approval also would be needed from the Inland Wetlands, Watercourses and Conservation Commission if any land would be disturbed within 100 feet of a brook or wetlands, Rhodes said.
Robert Mills, president of the Norwich Community Development Corp. (NCDC), said he would be disappointed if the large property were developed only for solar arrays, The Day reported.
NCDC has been eyeing the property for a possible new commercial park to expand the city tax base. Mills said he is aware that a plan for a second industrial park there met with strong opposition decades ago, but said a new plan would be for a business park without heavy industry, The Day reported.
Mills also would prefer the Byron Brook land be used for agriculture development along the lines of the recent farm-to-table food trend. “We would embrace the solar with a lot of reservations,” Mills said. “If that’s all we have and that’s all we can get.”
Mayor Peter Nystrom said he has been aware since fall that the Byron Brook land was under contract for a possible solar project, but did not know any details, since the option was not yet filed, The Day reported.
“It’s not the highest and best use of that land, but it’s a use that provides tax revenue,” Nystrom said. “Not having read anything or been contacted by the developer, I’ll reserve judgment.”
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