Conn. businessman plans $18M electric vehicle education center in Sturbridge
Photo | Courtesy of Town of Sturbridge
A rendering of the proposed EV Discovery Center
Michael Frisbie has big plans for the former truck stop on Route 20 in Sturbridge.
The owner of 12 convenience stores and gas stations in Connecticut plans to build a $17.5-million electric vehicle discovery center and travel stop to include a convention center, electric vehicle showroom, restaurant, electric vehicle driving range, a charging station, and gas station to the seven-acre parcel of land he purchased in 2020. In addition, the facility will host a classroom for management students from Nichols College.
Frisbie told WBJ plans for construction of the two-floor, 16,000-square-foot building at 201 Charlton Road are being held up as he waits on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to approve a stop-light at the location, so traffic and safety issues will be mitigated. Frisbie hopes for more than 150 events a year and said the traffic signals are vital for that to happen.
Frisbie has partnered with Canadian nonprofit Plug’n Drive, which promotes the adoption of electric vehicles. It opened a similar EV showroom in Toronto to the planned one in Sturbridge.
The Sturbridge center will not be a salesroom for cars, but a learning center where people can test drive electric cars being donated to the showroom by some of the makers, Frisbie said. He can’t confirm which makers have contributed until construction begins, but according to Plug’n Drive’s website, it is offering test drive experiences across Toronto in Volvo XC40 and the Kia EV6.
Sturbridge’s location was a major factor in selecting the site for the center’s location, Frisbie said, citing Strubridge’s proximity to Boston and New York City as well as Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. People from across New England can easily access the location from across the region.
“Massachusetts is progressive, and the location is in the center of New England,” he said.
Frisbie wants the location to serve as a place where people can learn about electric vehicles. He said it will give people a chance to see the opportunity the vehicles offer environmentally and economically.
Another component to the convention center is a partnership with Nichols College in Dudley, where Frisbie graduated from in 1990. The convention center will have a classroom dedicated to a pathway to management school, where students will learn to run their own businesses and operate various facilities in different capacities.
Frisbie wants to install a slew of electric vehicle chargers to make the drive from New York City to Boston via EV easier for people whose cars don’t have the range to do it.
The travel stop will include charging stations and a gas station – because gas isn’t going away for a long time, Frisbie said – and will cost $10 million to build, while the convention center will cost $7.5 million.
Sturbridge has offered a 10-year tax exemption for the convention center, according to an article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. The tax break will start at 100% and go down by 10% each subsequent year.
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