Utopia in Eastern Conn.

04:21 PM EDT on Thursday, May 25, 2006

PRESTON, Conn. -- Plans to build a $1.6-billion entertainment complex here that would create 22,000 permanent jobs worries hospitality industry leaders in Rhode Island and Connecticut.

"We're used to having access to a certain quality of employee," said Dale Venturini, president of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association.

"Now we have a whole other entity that is going to be reaching out for labor in our industry . . . regardless if we get a casino, we'll have a neighbor reaching out for more and more of our employees."

Venturini responded to the vote in Preston on Tuesday that approved a proposed movie studio and theme park project in the small town in eastern Connecticut.

Utopia Studios, based in Melville, N.Y., intends to build movie studios, a climate-controlled theme park, hotels and an arts school on the former Norwich Hospital property. The developers estimate that the attractions would bring 8 million to 10 million visitors a year and employ 22,000 people.

The vote in Preston was split, with 1,330, or 56.5 percent, in favor and 1,023 opposed. Voter turnout was about 68 percent.

Backers of the proposal say the project will pump tax revenue and tourist dollars into eastern Connecticut. Opponents say they fear crowded roads and other urban problems.

Others, outside Preston, said the project would have ramifications far outside of town.

A spokewoman for Foxwoods casino, the original destination resort in the area, said adding one more business to soak up service-sector jobs means one more challenge in meeting staffing needs in an area already short of potential employees.

"The are a lot of opinions about whether it will all come to fruition," said Joanne Weber, senior vice president of human resources at the casino. "It will take a lot of creativity to staff so many organizations that are this large in this area. I think eventually it might mean making changes in infrastructure."

Weber used Atlantic City, N.J., as an example, where the introduction of casinos led to the creation of new forms of mass transit to bring workers in from Philadelphia and New York.

"Maybe we could get more people coming down from Hartford," she said. "If a bus line could support itself by the sheer numbers then maybe, but it would mean a lot of changes would have to take place in the local community and government."

Preston First Selectman Robert Congdon, who backed the proposal, said the project is already moving forward.

Utopia Studios has already turned in required paperwork and made an initial payment under the terms of the development agreement. Preston officials still have to sign a 300-page agreement to develop the 419-acre site.

"I'm just very pleased that both the opponents and supporters worked so hard and the turnout was fabulous," said Congdon. "It was very busy day. It's democracy in action. People came out and they had a decision."

State House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, said it is now time to roll out the welcome mat for Utopia Studios and hold the developers to their promises.

"With their approval, Preston residents have chosen to unlock the economic potential and job creation that Utopia has offered southeastern Connecticut," Amann said.

Developer Joseph Gentile spoke with voters Tuesday, answering questions and engaging in last-minute lobbying on behalf of his proposal.

"You've got to make yourself accessible," he said. "I'm really proud there's not a campaign here. It's been a grassroots effort."

The stakes were high, Congdon said. If voters had rejected the proposal, a "base of opposition" could have blocked future projects for the property, he said.

Under the development agreement, Utopia will now have 180 days to perform an environmental review of the site and come up with an estimate of the cost of cleaning it up. Previous estimates put the cleanup cost at up to $50 million.

The developers will be required to post a performance bond to make sure financing is in place for the cleanup, even if the project fails.

Utopia has also agreed to put $13 million in escrow for taxes and fees that will be owed to the town during the first four years of the project.

Building the park would involve 4,700 construction workers. Construction could begin by the end of next year or early 2008, Gentile said.

"Then it will go pretty quickly," he said.

The state owned the property, which will now be transferred to Preston.

Supporters say Utopia could help establish a broad-based movie industry in the state and boost the economy of the town and eastern Connecticut. Opponents say the project's scale could transform the region's character, bringing more traffic and further development.

State Sen. Cathy Cook, whose district includes Preston, said she was pleased with the margin of support.

"I'm glad it was decisive and not so close to continue to have bad feelings on both sides," she said.

Cook, who is not a Preston resident and has not taken a position on Utopia, criticized Gentile for failing to answer questions about the project's impact on roads and police protection.

"If she had questions, she should have shown up at informational meetings," Gentile said. "I think there were 10 of them."

With reports from Journal Staff Writer Arthur Kimball-Stanley and The Associated Press.