East Granby’s planning and zoning commission will soon be deciding whether to let a large New Jersey-based commercial real estate developer build 700,000 square feet of warehouse space on former farmland near Bradley International Airport. The Silverman Group’s proposal to develop part of its 134-acre parcel on Rainbow Road has drawn enough public opposition that a lengthy hearing last month had to be extended to Nov. 17 so more residents could speak. So far, emails and letters to the zoning board have run almost exclusively against the plan. Public discontent with recent industrial buildup has been brewing for years, with residents complaining that large corporations are getting too much latitude to change the rural nature of their town. At issue is whether Silverman can construct two mega-warehouses on its property, one of 400,000 square feet and the other of 300,000.
Rural CT town faces choice on former farmland. It’s a controversial mega-warehouse plan
