Torrington City Council: ‘Disgusting’ Condition of Police Building, Stalled Hotchkiss Square Project Reviewed

10/5/26 6:30 p.m.

Present: Mayor Molly Spino. City Councilors Armand Maniccia, Anne Ruwet, Rachel Hannon-Harrel, David Oliver, and Paul Cavagnero.

Present via Zoom: Councilor Chris Beyus.

On Oct. 5, the Torrington City Council greenlit the acquisition of a property at 174 N. Elm St. that Corporation Counsel Tomasz Kalinowski said is vital to the City’s mission to provide a growing system of trails for residents. The Planning and Zoning Commission must review the move.

Councilors voted unanimously to pay $1,000, which covers the cost of processing by the State Properties Review Board, for the 7,900-square-foot parcel that will help the town continue the development of the Red Mountain Trail. Councilor David Oliver moved to take the action and Councilor Anne Ruwet seconded the motion.

Kalinowski said the trail plans are in the final stages.

“Trail development has been a longstanding goal of the City’s Plan of Conservation and Development, and brings obvious health and social benefits to taxpayers,” Kalinowski wrote, in a memo to Mayor Molly Spino.

The Red Mountain Trail is part of an expansion of the Town’s recreational trail network built out on the former Pan Am railroad bed, which is owned by the City, and it would run from the northerly side of North Elm Street and continue through the Newfield Road area, Kalinowski said.

The City has been granted funding through the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to begin work, he said. Torrington’s plan remains under review by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT).

In other discussion at the meeting, the Council and Spino reviewed the state of the Torrington Police Department building. The Mayor noted that the City’s Office of Economic Development recently organized tours of the Police Department building on Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, and they were attended by Councilors Anne Ruwet, David Oliver, and Paul Cavagnero.

“Very eye-opening,” the mayor said of the tour. “I know those that attended were surprised at some of the things that we saw.”

Oliver went a step further, calling the state of the building’s interior appalling. The councilors did not discuss the specific conditions that made their visit a haunting experience but noted they want to swiftly find a way to address the issues.

“I was shocked at what the condition of that building was, and what they actually are working within, and what they are working toward,” Oliver said. “I think I apologized to the Chief at least five times. I couldn't believe the condition of that building. It's clear that we need to make that a priority somehow, some way in the future. It's disgusting in there.”

The meeting was adjourned at 6:44 p.m.

The Council is next scheduled to meet Nov. 2.

9/21/26 City 6:30 p.m.

Present: Spino. City Councilors Oliver, Cavagnero, Ruwet, Maniccia, and Hannon-Harrel.

Absent: Beyus.

Torrington City officials told the Council at its Sept. 21 meeting that the developer of the ambitious Hotchkiss Square project, which at one point was tapped to deliver about 170 new housing units and several commercial storefronts, has run out of cash.

The parcels that would make up the project, 199 Water St. and 229 Church St., are owned by Paydirt LLC. The company acquired the parcels in 2017, but Torrington Economic Development Director William Wallach said they have made no significant progress to realize the Hotchkiss Square vision.

Wallach said the company pitched a proposal to the City in March a plan to bring about 170 new apartments, approximately 20,000 square feet of first-floor commercial space, parking, and underground parking, with an estimated construction period of 20 months. The estimated project cost was approximately $59 million, Wallach said.

Paydirt does not have the capital necessary to continue with the project, he said.

Now, the City is at a crossroads: seek other avenues for potential redevelopment that may or may not include the current owners or eventually foreclose because the property remains a blight to the community. It is now in limbo, Wallach said.

The company partnered with the city in 2021 and in 2022 was awarded $1.5 million in the form of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program remediation grant that would include the demolition of existing structures.

“That project's about 90% complete,” Wallach said.

There is still one building on the property that needs to be removed, but Wallach said he doesn’t believe Paydirt has the capital to see the project through.

“Since I've been here, and in the years before me coming on board, they've not been able to materialize the money to actually do any redevelopment of that property,” Wallach said. “It will continue to sit in that state because they just do not have the finances.”

For now, the project holds a “vacant blighted” status with the City, which Wallach discussed with the City’s Blight Task Force in the summer. The task force has already issued a notice of violation, Wallach said.

Some of the issues that have led to the site remaining a “blighted property” include overgrowth and what Wallach described as temporary fencing around the standing structure. Wallach recommended continuing enforcing the city’s property code against the owners.

Continuing the demolition of the property, Wallach said, will be on the owners’ dime. Either that, or Paydirt will have to show the City they have the capital to continue the development project, at which point the City can notify DECD to release the withheld grant funds, he said.

In the meantime, Wallach said he is trying to engage with other developers who are in talks with Paydirt to take over the project or purchase the property outright. Wallach said the City could also partner with those other developers on an investment strategy.

“These developers are able to bring the capital to fruition and bring a project to Torrington that is worthy of this parcel,” Wallach said. “But that negotiation process could be very lengthy, and so it's worth it for the City to pursue both avenues of blight accountability and moving a redevelopment project forward at the same time.”

Cavagnero and Ruwet agreed the City should pursue both strategies. Cavagnero questioned why Paydirt’s analysis of the amount of capital required for the project ended up being inaccurate.

“The City's time is money too, and they've tied us up for many years on this, when they didn't have the money,” Cavagnero said. “I would personally feel much better about getting them completely out of the picture.”

The foreclosure process for blight reasons starts with a blight lien.

“There is a blight lien against the property right now,” Wallach said. “As it approaches that 10% valuation for the current assessed value for the property, it will be my recommendation to the Blight Task Force that we initiate foreclosure proceedings against the property.”

The meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.