What's Happening in Norwich, CT…

On October 3, Norwich city council members approved legislation to raze the Reid & Hughes building.

The ordinance sets aside bonds totaling $800,000 to bring down and clean up the building. It would take over one third of that just to make the structure safe, according to city estimations.

Some citizens wanted to preserve the structure, which was built in the 1800s, but council aldermen Stacy Gould, Joanne Philbrick, Gerald Martin, and H. Tucker Braddock voted in ordinance's favor, as did Deb Hinchey, Norwich's mayor. Gould believes although she liked the building when she was young, it has deteriorated and needs to go for the city's progress.

Those against were Peter Nystrom, the pro tempore president of the council, and alderman William Nash. Nash had wanted to demolish the building before but now believes the city could have used it to house veterans. He is the Veterans Administration liaison for the council and believes 30 units would fit into the building, with 20 for veterans and 10 for seniors.

Two months prior, engineers from the CLA predicted the roof would cave in if a winter storm hit. The city owns the building, but all efforts to renovate it over the past two decades have failed.

When the building is demolished, developers could hire a poster printing company to create visuals for proposals for the property.