Volume III | February 2022 | |
Your quarterly news & updates | |
The Bradley Development League is a consortium comprised of the Town of East Granby, Town of Suffield, Town of Windsor, Town of Windsor Locks, the Connecticut Airport Authority, and representatives of the regional business community. The group meets on a regular basis to coordinate economic development initiatives and to promote the attraction and retention of businesses in all four towns surrounding Bradley International Airport. | |
Development League Updates | |
What’s new in Windsor Locks? Here’s how this airport town finished 2022 and is starting 2023! | |
The Windsor Locks train station relocation has begun! This exciting project entails the construction of a new downtown train station, providing a more convenient linkage for rail passengers using the Hartford Line. The Hartford Line runs between New Haven and Springfield, and the new train station will also offer transit service to Bradley International Airport for each arriving train. The project is estimated to be completed in Summer 2025.
| UPS recently expanded into an already completed spec building at 120 Old County Circle, which is a great use for this beautiful new industrial space. 30 Hamilton Road will also soon see a new, well-located warehouse. Due to the strong demand for additional warehousing and distribution space near the airport, the Silverman Group is working on building design and state permitting for its new facility. The company expects to file permits soon. | |
DORO Marketplace, an upscale bakery, cafe, and marketplace, recently opened at 2 National Drive in Windsor Locks, fronting on Route 75 directly across from the airport. DORO is a perfect complement to the Route 75 corridor, which offers a number of other restaurants in town. The space is already alive with customers, laughter, and scrumptious, fresh café food, breads, and pastries!
| Strong Poss-Abilities recently opened their doors at 73 Old County Road. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit established to work with special needs individuals, the organization's vision is to create a space that empowers and develops athleticism for the special needs and disabilities communities. | |
And, finally, Dexter's Best Liberty Safes recently opened a new location on Main Street! Dexter's Best offers rugged, durable, USA-made residential and commercial floor safes. The Town is pleased to welcome Zach, Stephen, and the rest of the team to downtown Windsor Locks.
| Do you have questions? Please reach out to Jen Valentino, Director of Planning and Development for the Town of Windsor Locks at 860.627.1447 or jvalentino@wlocks.com | |
Bradley International Airport Updates | |
Bradley International Airport has put an emphasis on its "middle name" with several, recent announcements and launches. In December, the Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) was pleased to launch new, nonstop service to Montego Bay, Jamaica via Spirit Airlines. The new service, which the CAA had pursued for many years, is an important route for the state's strong Jamaican population. Connecticut is home to one of the largest Jamaican communities in the world, boasting the fifth-largest population of residents with Jamaican ancestry among all U.S. states. Spirit also recently announced new service to San Juan, PR, which will launch on June 7th. | |
(Pictured left to right) Jamaica Tourist Board District Sales Manager Victoria Harper, Caribbean Trade Council President Andrew Lawrence, Spirit Airlines Senior Director of Airports Atul Kumria, former State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, Jamaica's Ambassador to the US Audrey Marks, State Representative Bobby Gibson, and CT Airport Authority Executive Director Kevin Dillon | |
The CAA was also pleased to announce that Aer Lingus will return to the airport in late March with the resumption of nonstop service to Dublin, Ireland. The popular service, which had been on hiatus since the beginning of the pandemic, will operate daily through October and offer convenient connectivity to 28 major European destinations, including London, Paris, and Amsterdam. | |
After the successful opening of the new, $210 million ground transportation center, the CAA is preparing to launch two equally transformative projects for the airport. Construction will soon commence on a new, $185 million checked baggage inspection services facility (CBIS). Currently, when checking a bag at the airport, passengers must present it to the ticket counter for tagging before lugging it themselves to one of the bulky baggage inspection devices found in the departures level. The new CBIS facility, which will be adjacent to the terminal and fed by over one mile of conveyor belt systems, will allow passengers to hand their checked bags to the ticket counter agent for routing to the CBIS building. The new system will also allow the CAA to remove the baggage inspection devices from the ticketing area, freeing up additional counter space for airlines to grow into and expand their services. | |
The CAA is also launching a $55 million vertical circulation project to streamline the flow of deplaning passengers at the airport. This project will create two vertical circulation cores at the end of both concourses so arriving passengers can walk to the end of their concourse and immediately take an escalator or stairs down to the baggage claim area. This new system will also allow the CAA to close the existing, centrally located exit lane and expand the footprint of the adjacent TSA security checkpoint. | |
| | | |
