Background and Context
Middletown is a community of approximately 50,000 residents. Located on the western bank of the Connecticut River, European settlers arrived in the region and established a colonial settlement in 1650. In the 18th century Middletown became a port city and in the 19th century a center for manufacturing and higher education. By the early and mid 20th century the City was a thriving center of arts, education and commerce, with a downtown that featured elegant architecture and a broad thoroughfare. However, by the late 1980 and early 1990s, the downtown area was in decline – with empty storefronts and concerns about safety.

By 1996, an initiative by the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce and Wesleyan University to heavily invest in Main Street converged with the need for the Middletown’s Police Headquarters to relocate from its existing site. JCJ Architecture was retained and assisted the City by developing a comprehensive space program and evaluating possible locations. With the need to develop a building that would support public safety and community policing needs for a City of 40,000 (and possibly as many as 60,000) residents and the need to revitalize downtown, an underutilized site on Main Street was identified as the preferred option.

With a local zoning requirement that all property on Main Street must have a retail component, the program was refined to include approximate 12,000 square foot of space for mixed use. Following a schematic design process helped to secure public approval, the project moved forward into design development.