WINDSOR LOCKS — The State Department of Transportation has signed a contract with the Walsh Group to build the new Windsor Locks station.
Originally, Manafort Brothers Inc. was offered the contract, but first manager Paul Harrington was told on July 1 that the company had decided not to sign.
From now on, the Walsh Group, a construction company founded in 1898, will build the new station.
According to the group’s website, it has built transit facilities in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix, Charlotte, North Carolina, Miami and Los Angeles.
According to Harrington, representatives from the Walsh Group have said the $65 million project is expected to start within 45 days of signing, matching the original plan which was to start in late August.
Now that the state is signing contracts and construction companies are lining up, other companies have expressed interest in expanding at Windsor Locks, Harrington said.
A developer, who plans to build in Windsor, has started researching what he could build at Windsor Locks, Harrington added.
He also said he spoke on the phone with the Silverman Group, which is building the Bradley Airport Logistics Center East on Hamilton Road, to find out if it made sense to build a mixed-use apartment complex on Main Street.
“Nothing is concrete, but there is interest, which is great,” Harrington said.
Not only does the station make the Windsor Locks development more attractive, but the town also receives a lot of traffic from Bradley International Airport.
“The first impression they have of Connecticut is the town they land in, and that happens to be Windsor Locks,” Harrington said at Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. “It’s a great position when talking to the developers or the state to unlock the treasure chest.”
Construction of the new railway station is expected to take 18 to 24 months.
