Halls Road already has a pedestrian signal at Huntley Road, and that light now anchors the most concrete plan on the strip. On October 21, Old Lyme's Halls Road Sidewalk Committee voted unanimously to send the planned sidewalk across Halls Road at that light. West of Huntley it would run along the north side. East of Huntley it would run along the south side, out to Route 156.
Halls Road has seen a lot of talk over the past year. A shopping center sold, the Marketplace owners went public with their plans, and more than 260 people packed a zoning workshop. The sidewalk is the one effort with an engineer under contract, state construction money already awarded, and a vote on record from last week. Each of the other efforts is waiting on something, and the reasons are what makes this fall worth following.
The sidewalk changed sides at Huntley Road
The original plan put six-foot sidewalks along the north side of Halls Road, linking Lyme Street to the commercial district, as LymeLine reported in February. Under the committee's revised route, someone walking east from the historic district would go like this:
- Start at Lyme Street on the north side. According to the October 21 committee minutes, the Old Lyme Historic District Commission has jurisdiction over construction within 300 feet of Lyme Street, and committee chair Timothy Griswold has already shown its members the engineer's preliminary plans.
- Continue along the north side, past the bulkhead behind the Lyme Art Association and toward Webster Bank, to the west side of Huntley Road.
- Cross Halls Road at the Huntley Road pedestrian signal.
- Finish on the south side, running east past Treasures to Route 156.
The split started with an October 13 letter from committee member Bret Enman. He argued that on the south side between Huntley Road and Route 156, the sidewalk could sit farther from the road and include a proper snow shelf, which he believed would greatly improve the current design in front of Treasures. First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker reported that DOT would allow the town to divide the project this way.
The committee also looked at a mid-block crossing between the entrances to the Hideaway's shopping center and the Post Office, and set it aside. Griswold noted that a formal crossing at Huntley Road is safer because a pedestrian signal already exists there. A crossing at the Post Office entrance would likely leave the town paying for any crosswalk signals.
The committee also checked one engineering question. A drainage pipe carries the stream behind the Lyme Art Association under Halls Road twice. It runs to a catch basin on the south side, then back north to a marsh beside the Hangry Goose, and from there down a ditch into the Lieutenant River. The committee concluded the pipe would not be a significant issue for the north-side section running toward Webster Bank.
Why the sidewalk is ahead of everything else
The difference is money and paperwork. In November 2025 the state awarded Old Lyme $800,000 for accessible sidewalks along Halls Road. LymeLine reported that the grant covers construction but not engineering. The town budgeted about $279,490 for the engineering portion. As of August 28, about $36,784 had been spent, almost all of it on Jacobson Engineering's budgeted work. In June, engineer Aaron Mortensen expected the survey in early August and estimated about a year for the engineering phase. The work already done also helps with the new south-side section. Mortensen estimated the extra survey work east of Huntley Road at about $15,000.
Here is how the four Halls Road efforts compare going into November:
| Effort | Who is driving it | Money attached | Next step on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halls Road sidewalk | Town committee, Jacobson Engineering | $800,000 state grant for construction; town engineering budget about $279,490 | Board of Selectmen vote on the split route, then a request to DOT |
| Old Lyme Shopping Center, 19 Halls Road | Old Lyme Shopping Center LLC | $3.95 million purchase in July | No public plans or dates from the owner |
| Old Lyme Marketplace | Marketplace ownership | Repairs completed; façade still being evaluated | No dates announced |
| Town zoning rewrite | Zoning Commission, consultant IMEG | Two-year process | Zoning Commission regular meeting November 9 |
The plazas have plans but no dates
The Old Lyme Shopping Center at 19 Halls Road, best known as home of the Hideaway, sold for $3.95 million on July 24. The buyer was Old Lyme Shopping Center LLC, registered by Abraham Gottesman of Spring Valley, New York, according to LymeLine. The main building dates to 1964 and covers 45,133 square feet on a 5.2-acre lot. Its 2024 valuation was $4.47 million, above the sale price. An attempt to sell the center at auction in 2022 failed when bids didn't reach the reserve. Brad Balletto, who brokered the sale, told LymeLine he expects "a lot of cosmetic improvements to the property to improve curb appeal." Hideaway owner José Plasencia said he had heard of a remodel and new plaza signs.
At Old Lyme Marketplace, home to Big Y, Grand Wine & Spirits, Snap Fitness and The Bowerbird, ownership has said more in public. In an August guest commentary on LymeLine, principal Jason Hess wrote that the owners had repaired electrical problems and the parking lot and removed dead trees. He said they were considering a major façade renovation and a better tenant mix, and he denied that a hotel or food court was in the works.
Some of the Marketplace's changes are already in the ground. The trees removed near the main entrance in March have been replaced. Tree Warden Tom Degnan identified the new plantings as American hornbeam, red maple and redbud, chosen on the town's recommendations, and said the original oaks had outgrown the site and in places heaved the pavement. His account appeared in comments on a June LymeLine letter. Walgreens left the Marketplace in late January. Nagy Wassef, owner of the Medicine Shoppe in Old Saybrook, announced plans to open a pharmacy in the space between the former Walgreens and Big Y. In February he told LymeLine he hoped to be ready around mid-March.
Whatever either owner builds next, the zoning rules that govern the strip are being rewritten.
The zoning rewrite is still in its listening phase
The September 15 workshop on commercial, industrial and waterfront zoning filled the main room at the Lymes' Senior Center to its 260-person capacity. Extra attendees watched a video feed in nearby rooms. Lead consultant Francisco Gomes of IMEG told LymeLine it was the largest crowd he had seen at a workshop in 25 years of planning work in Connecticut. Land Use Coordinator Eric Knapp stressed that no Halls Road proposals were on the table that night.
At the Halls Road sessions, residents supported keeping a supermarket and opposed bringing in hotels. A town zoning survey had drawn 800 responses by then. Of those, 55% asked for more food-service businesses, 42% for more retail and 35% for more mixed-use development. Gomes summed up what he heard from the room:
"There is a desire to improve the area, to retain small businesses, to fill vacancies, to make it more walkable, to beautify it. But not at the expense of losing the charm of the area, and of building something that you feel doesn't belong in Old Lyme."
The rewrite is about halfway through its two-year schedule and is expected to continue through 2027. The commission hasn't proposed any changes yet. The October 13 Zoning Commission agenda listed updates on workshops, focus groups, survey review and next steps, and set the next regular meeting for November 9. Last year a larger meeting drew more than 500 people, mostly opposed to the Halls Road Overlay District, a proposal that would have allowed apartments and condominiums above or behind ground-floor businesses. Any new rules for the strip will come out of this longer process.
The river crossing comes with a December deadline
The walk west toward Lyme Street ends at the Lieutenant River, and so do the open questions. The proposed pedestrian bridge over the river grew in scope to include a fishing pier and parking. In March, LymeLine reported that selectmen were weighing whether to drop it. According to the March 16 Board of Selectmen minutes, the board asked the First Selectwoman to check with DEEP about the fishing-pier requirement and explore congressional funding, and to wait for input from the sidewalk committee. At that point $99,092.63 of the bridge's $135,000 ARPA allocation had been spent, leaving $35,907.37. That money has to be spent on planning or design by December 2026 or it goes back to Social Services.
The idea hasn't been dropped. At the October 21 meeting, Shoemaker shared details on a 110-foot pedestrian bridge in Manchester, Vermont. Contech fabricated it from unpainted Corten steel that weathers to a natural patina. It was built in two pieces, assembled on site and lowered into place. She also said DOT plans to replace the Lieutenant River vehicle bridge within five to seven years. When a member asked about hanging a sidewalk off the north side of the current bridge, she said DOT won't allow it.
That leaves a clear order of events. The sidewalk route goes to the Board of Selectmen. If the board approves, Shoemaker will use both sets of minutes to ask DOT to approve the change. The Zoning Commission meets November 9. The remaining $35,907.37 in bridge planning money expires in December.
Our office is in Old Lyme, and we follow Halls Road the same way you do, one meeting at a time. If you live near the strip and want a clear read on where your property stands while these plans come together, The Nancy Mesham Team will take you through it calmly and in detail. Start with "What Is My Home Worth?"
