Highway Rest Areas to Get $178 Million Overhaul

NORWALK — Ever imagine visiting the service plazas on interstates 95 and 395 as destinations that appeal to travelers and local residents alike, offering a mini-mall experience with attractive restaurants and shops?

No?

The state says you should know that a North Haven company is about to demolish, redesign and rebuild the 13 plazas on the interstates, and extensively refurbish the 10 plazas along the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways, which comprise Route 15.

The plazas are in "deplorable condition and getting worse," said Paul Landino, president of Project Service LLC, during a presentation Thursday before the South Western Region Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Speaking at the organization's February meeting in the Norwalk Transit District's headquarters on Wilson Avenue, Landino said that over the next 5 1/2 years Project Service will spend about $178 million on the plazas in "a unique public-private partnership."

Project Service is an investment entity created by Landino's company DAI and the global private equity firm Carlyle Group of Washington, D.C. It assumed control of the plazas Dec. 7 and, according to Landino, is in an initial design phase for all of them.

Through a competitive bid that drew submissions from eight companies, Project Service won a 35-year concession agreement with the state in November to rebuild and manage the plazas.

When the agreement was announced, the state identified Project Service as the "Prime Contractor," responsible for all operations, maintenance, design, construction and subcontracts. The Connecticut Department of Transportation said it will manage and hold the company accountable for performance of all services.

Considering the cost and extent of construction required, "This project was not for the faint of heart," Landino said.

Most important to the state, said Landino, was finding a company that could manage the food and retail operations of the plazas as well as their fueling stations. He said the food and retail businesses will be individually owned and operated by franchises, while gasoline and diesel fuels will be provided by Alliance Energy, a fuel wholesaler in Branford.

Many of the plazas along the two interstates have McDonald's restaurants, and Landino said the fast food giant will continue to be a tenant and modernize its facilities at eight locations. But restaurants offering "fresh food options" will also be installed, he said, noting that companies offering Italian and Asian "concepts" have expressed interest, along with the Mohegan Sun casino.

All 23 plazas will include a Subway restaurant, a Dunkin' Donuts shop and a convenience store.

When the concession agreement was announced, Gov. M. Jodi Rell's office said about 750 people are employed at the plazas, and approximately 1,000 are expected to be employed at them when construction is complete.

The construction projects would employ about 100 people, her office said.

While Paul Landino's background is managing food operations, his brother, Robert Landino, is an engineer who's heading up the project's equity development and construction management.

Robert Landino said at the meeting each of the interstate plazas will be "starting from scratch," from the size and location of buildings to the layout of parking lots and driveways, with an emphasis on separating cars and trucks.

Under the agreement with the state, Project Service must install systems to capture polluted runoff from the parking lots and driveways and install video surveillance systems. Each plaza will have an office area set aside for use by Connecticut State Troopers, and an electric generator installed to continue operating during a power outage.

Of major importance, said Landino, will be relocating the fueling areas and providing separate fueling and parking areas for cars and trucks.

All of the Route 15 plazas, said Landino, will be extensively refurbished, but because of their historic character, "We don't want the appearance of the buildings to change."

He said some of the Rt. 15 locations will have extensions constructed from the rear of the buildings to expand their retail space.

"And we plan to fix all the clocks," he said chuckling, referring to the decorative but broken clocks perched atop the roof of each service plaza building along the parkways.

The first interstate plaza to be rebuilt is in Milford and the first facility on Rt. 15 is in North Haven. Each plaza will be closed during reconstruction, with the schedule avoiding having two facilities in a row out of service.

Landino said that between the eighth and 35th years of the concession agreement Project Service anticipates spending an additional $50 million to maintain the appearance and functionality of the plazas.