University of Connecticut

For over a half century, the Town of Mansfield, Connecticut dreamed of having a downtown center that met the needs of the local citizens and also the University of Connecticut, which is located there.  In 2010, then Mayor Betsy Paterson said, “Some of the first rumblings of interest in developing a town center were heard as far back as the early 1940s. It is exciting to see how much has been accomplished and how close we now are to this reality.”  That dream became a reality when Leyland Alliance LLC and Education Realty Trust (EdR) came together and joined forces with the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Inc. to create and develop a mixed-use town center that accomplished all of the goals established by the people.  It was a Public Private Partnership (P3) that used private funds to create a vibrant, walkable university town that consisted of high quality housing, office, retail, structured parking and public gathering places that the area so desperately needed.  It was to have a positive impact on not only the Town but, most certainly, the University of Connecticut because it gave university officials a tool to ensure that they attract and retain the brightest and best students to their institution.  Quite simply, it was a gamechanger.

EdR and Leyland met frequently with the Mansfield Downtown Partnership and other stakeholders to determine what the vision for this development should be.  Those meetings were 100% collaborative with all participants freely giving their views and opinions.  As developers, that’s precisely what EdR brought to the partnership.  Not only did they strive to understand the needs of the community but they had the expertise to execute the actions needed to bring the development to fruition.  To EdR, it was more than just planning and constructing buildings, it was about creating a better quality of life for the entire community.  They worked with Leyland and others to bring in retail tenants such as Price Chopper, CVS, Barnes & Noble, UPS, Subway, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Insomnia Cookies and local favorites such as Dog Lane Café and Geno’s Grille, which is owned by famed UConn women’s basketball coach, Geno Auriemma.