Retail re-vision: Renaissance reduces plans for shops and restaurants by half

Thursday, June 7, 2012 9:43 PM EDT

By Steve Collins Staff Writer

BRISTOL The amount of retail space called for in the revitalization plan for the former mall site is only half of what a Long Island-based developer figured it would be last year.

Instead of having 150,000 square feet of retail space, the new plan before the citys Zoning Commission would create 73,000 square feet for shops and restaurants.

But Ryan Porter, the project manager for Renaissance Downtowns, said Thursday the change makes sense for Bristol.

He said the existing downtown regulations, which Renaissance helped create, require that all ground floor space in every building be dedicated to retail establishments.

If Renaissance were to follow the dictate to the letter, Porter said, it would have to build hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space on the 17-acre former mall site, most of it with little commercial appeal.

Thats way too much, said city Councilor Henri Martin. It has to be cut back, he said, in order to work at all.

Porter said Renaissance is aiming to make sure all of the ground floor space facing Riverside Avenue, Main or North Main streets house retail shops and restaurants.

There would also be retail facing the piazza slated for construction as part of the first construction phase, which may begin next spring.

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Retail re-vision: Renaissance reduces plans for shops and restaurants by half