Study: Town needs to link up with TriArts, health-care services

SHARON — The Northwest Connecticut Planning Collaborative has issued a draft report recommending revitalization strategies for Sharon.

The recommended strategies are a follow-up to a study issued in the summer  by environmental consulting firm AKRF.

The study identified the town’s overall strengths and weaknesses and formulated suggestions for potential revitalization plans. 

To compile the study, AKRF surveyed 42 stores in town. Of the stores, 55 percent were identified as neighborhood services, such as banks, professional offices, beauty salons and real estate agents.

Convenience goods accounted for 14 percent of the stores surveyed.

Auto-related trade stores accounted for 7 percent, eating and drinking places also accounted for 7 percent.

It was noted that 12 percent of the stores surveyed represented vacant storefronts. However, the survey was conducted in the summer before several businesses, including the Sharon Farm Market, opened.

Sharon’s strengths, according to the survey, include Sharon Hospital and other health-care facilities that generate jobs for local residents; TriArts at the Sharon Playhouse, which is a destination for residents and tourists; and the Sharon shopping plaza, a major retail destination.

The survey noted that the town has an attractive village Green and historic district; that the Sharon Audubon Center and Ellsworth Hill Farm are major destinations outside the village; and the clock tower serves as an iconic gateway on Route 41 from the south.

However, the survey identified several weaknesses, including a lack of critical mass of retail stores.

The survey also said the town has commercial areas that are  too physically distant from each other, making  it impossible for pedestrians to go from one center to another.

Also noted in the survey was a lack of convenient pedestrian access between the Sharon Playhouse and the village and the Green; a weak gateway to the village center from the north; and a lack of a central gathering or meeting place in the village.

The report recommends more commercial activities around the Green and the opening of a full-service restaurant in town to satisfy the needs of town residents and also to create jobs.

The short-term strategies suggested in the study are:

• Link the Sharon Playhouse to the village center. The study indicates that a pedestrian-friendly link from the Playhouse would bring people downtown.

• Market dining opportunities to TriArts customers; perhaps create a restaurant or snackbar at the playhouse that could be catered by local restaurants and food vendors.

•Improve signage to make it easier to find businesses on West Main Street.

• Improve the gateway from the north on Route 41 with better lighting and landscaping.

The long-term strategies suggested include:

•Permit ground floor commercial usage in buildings around the Green. This could potentially improve the balance of commercial, institutional and open space use around the Green.

• Capitalize on the many health-care providers and services in town by bringing in businesses associated with health care, such as a commercial laundry or laboratories.

• Increase affordable housing opportunities for employees of local businesses.