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  • Dark storefronts- Meridian Street
  • Storefront along State Street
  • State Street, New London
project leader
Kristin Havrilla C
location
311 State Street
(Downtown Historic Waterfront District)
latest update rss
Let's Light Up New London! Open House and Ceremonial Lighting

the project

A well lit downtown creates a safer, friendlier and more occupied feel in any area. A well lit street in a commercial area encourages shoppers and visitors to continue walking and exploring the shops, restaurants and other businesses in the area.

New London Main Street plans to light up New London by removing all the potential barriers to installing lights in storefronts. For this new initiative, we will conduct assess existing electrical conditions in storefronts by inventorying available electrical hardware, access to power, access to the storefront, and landlord or business owner availability. We will work with the Building Official and a licensed electrician to ensure that lights are installed correctly and do not pose hazards. Once this assessment is complete, we will work with the property owner or store owner to install lights, and equipment needed, including electrical boxes, power strips, timers and either clip on style lights or electrical fixtures.

To implement "Light up New London!" we plan to phase the project by completing 10-12 storefronts per phase, concentrating on one block or contiguous area at a time in order to have greatest visual impact. The project is expected to begin on upper State Street, where the Garde Arts Center is a long time anchor, and tackle the vacant and unlit storefronts in this area, eventually working throughout the historic waterfront district. The storefronts selected will be part of a Storefront Public Art project that is part of the New England Foundation for the Arts Creative Communities Exchange conference in June 2017.

New London Main Street has partnered with the City of New London's Neighborhood Coordinator and will reach out to downtown residents to engage all of our downtown neighbors.  Residents will participate by assisting with the assessment of areas that feel unsafe and unfriendly and identify why- lack of lighting, uneven sidewalks, empty storefronts, etc.  With this information, we will work to create an action plan that can be implemented by all downtown stakeholders.

the steps

1.  Fundraise to be able to provide lighting for 1 block (approximately 10-12 storefront)

2.  Purchase materials needed including lights, timers and power strips and hire contractors if needed

3.  Flip the switch and Light Up New London!

4.  Continue to work with downtown businesses and residents  to solve issues of darkness downtown

We anticipate that each phase of this project will take 2-4 weeks to implement, depending on willingness of property owners to participate in the project and the complexity of lighting needs in individual storefronts.  Because there are many unlit storefronts in downtown New London, we anticipate "Light Up New London" to be a longer term project that will require 7-9 blocks to be completed.  

why we're doing it

We want to make downtown New London brighter, and our downtown feel more welcoming so that residents and visitors feel safe and will want to walkaround our historic, waterfront district after dark.

budget

Disbursed Budget

Raised = $3,415.00
less ioby Platform Fee $35.00
less ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) $98.45
Total to disburse = $3,281.55
Lighting Supplies & hardware $1,425.55 
Permit fees $250 
Labor $606 
Contractor fees $1,000 

Original Budget

Lighting supplies & hardware = $2,500 

Permit fees = $500 

Labor = $1,000 

Contractor fees = $2,000 

Subtotal = $6,000 

ioby Platform Fee  = $35

ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) = $180

TOTAL TO RAISE = $6,215

 

updates

Let's Light Up New London! Open House and Ceremonial Lighting

Posted 12/14/2017 - 4:57pm

YOU, or fantastic Light Up New London contributors, are cordially invited to join us for an Open House and Ceremonial Lighting of State Street in downtown New London.

Please join us:

Thursday, December 21st- on the Winter Solstice- at 5 pm as we turn the lights on along upper State Street and Meridian Street.

The Open House will take place in New London Main Street's storefront at 311 State Street, which is adjacent to the Garde Arts Center.  

We hope to see you there!  THANK YOU for helping us reach our goal- this project wouldn't have happened without YOUR support!

Phase 1: Storefront Public Art Lighting

Posted 12/14/2017 - 4:52pm

In June 2017, we partnered with MS17, Hygienic Art, and the Southeastern COnnecticut Cultural Coalition to light 10 storefronts as part of a public art display along State Street that opened during the New England Foundation for the Arts Creative Communities Exchange conference.

It was really gratifying to see the stretch of State Street from the New London Main Storefront to Union Street lit up and filled with artwork.

While the art has slowly moved on to other venues, the lighting remains in the storefronts and lights up the darkness.

Stay tuned for an update on our rollout of lighting along several blocks of State Street to coincide with the Winter Solstice!

photos

This is where photos will go once we build flickr integration

donors

  • Frank & Lynda McLaughlin, McLaughlin Companies
  • Thor Torgersen
  • Carolyn Johnson
  • Aidan
  • Keith Turner
  • Tracy T.
  • Kristin Harkness
  • William T Craig CPA
  • Carmelo Foti
  • Amanda Ljubicic
  • Anonymous