"Any expansion is going to help," said King Loo, manager of Infinity Palace Chinese Buffet on Salem Turnpike near the college's Thames Valley campus, which will soon be the entire school's home.

The new Three Rivers Community College will join the two campuses on 60 acres behind the former Uncas on the Thames hospital and will be 1.5 times the size of the existing facilities. The Norwich Regional Technical High School, now next to the Thames Valley campus, will be shifted to the Mohegan campus on Mahan Drive across from the Rose City Senior Center.

"I keep thinking of the excitement it will create on New London Turnpike when we see the pieces of Three Rivers come out of the ground," said Mayor Ben Lathrop, pointing toward positive impacts, such as increased enrollment, state-of-the-art facilities and spin-off businesses.

Stanley Israelite, a development specialist with the Norwich Community Development Corp., said the new consolidated college will be poised to fuel business development on under-used land within the former Uncas on the Thames hospital property.

"It's an ideal setup. There's still plenty of land over there," Israelite said, adding the space could host a business or science park. "The college could then gear itself to the type of businesses that are there."

Better in downtown

But Ron Aliano said the college will never affect as many positive changes for the city as it would have in a downtown location. Aliano, who owns the Americus on the Wharf marina and American Ambulance, fought unsuccessfully to relocate Three Rivers downtown when consolidation discussions first began.

"It's tragic that Three Rivers will be the only community college in the state that's not in the downtown," he said. "It would've been an ideal situation as it has been around the country."

Reach Dorothy Schneider at 425-4231 or dschneider@norwichbulletin.com