Pam McLoughlin
WEST HAVEN — The developer of The Haven, a planned high-end outlet mall, has hired a security company to monitor the area of boarded up houses following two recent fires, according to Mayor Nancy Rossi.
But a city council member in the district says the public also wants answers from the developer about the project that has not started more than four years after it was announced.
“People don’t know what’s happening. They never get an update. People have been suspicious, jaded,” said Councilman Aaron Charney, D-3. “Let the developer come and tell us…Our imaginations are going wild.”However, Rossi said in an email Friday, “The Haven is still coming.”She said in the email that the developer is waiting for a certificate from the Office of State Traffic Administration — or OSTA — which falls under the state Department of Transportation. That will take 30 to 45 days, she said.
The city will also begin the street closure process for the project, “as that is required as part of the city development agreement with The Haven Group and it may make the project more secure,” Rossi’s said in a release.
Messore said recently at the podium of a City Council meeting that the project is awaiting approval by OSTA.DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick confirmed recently that the project is being reviewed by OSTA because it is considered a major traffic generator. He said that application is following the normal course and the developer may be required to make changes to roads and traffic patterns in that area.
While residents have publicly expressed concern about whether the project will come to fruition in their financially troubled city, the security of the area has become the more pressing topic in the last few weeks following fires at two of The Haven properties: a boarded up house on Richards Place on Feb. 8 and the former Bilco Co. on Water Street. The fire at Bilco on Feb. 17 was determined to be likely intentionally set, while the other is not conclusive, but fire officials said they are taking another look at that case to see if the two are related.Rossi said in an email and a prepared statement Friday that the The Haven group “has engaged a security company to monitor The Haven. This will provide security at the development site as a result of the recent fires.”
The Register sought further information, but after contacting city Commissioner of Planning and Development Fred Messore, The Haven spokesman Matt Armstrong, and Rossi, received an email from Messore saying, “The mayor’s office and developer are preparing a press release which will be distributed when ready.”
Rossi’s release regarding security also said that for the previous four nights until Sunday when the security company was to begin, the city Police Department sent officers to monitor the site. She said the developer will pay for the police coverage that took place.The Center Fire District, the fire marshal and the Building Department have been inspecting the properties and will issue a report to the city, Rossi said in the release.“The City will also do what is necessary to keep the site safe,” Rossi said.
There are 57 properties within the 24-acre project area, which is bounded by Main Street, First Avenue and Elm Street. The project includes what is now Water Street, which will be closed and eliminated as The Haven is built.
The site plan application for the 265,000 square feet of retail and restaurant development has approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
At the time, a representative of the developer said the target date for The Haven to open was June 2020. Developer Armstrong didn’t return a call seeking clarification on that date or other comment.
Rossi has said she is “very excited” about The Haven project, and at the time of approval called it a “Game changer.” The city has financial oversight by a state Municipal Accountability Review Board.Rossi said at the time of project approval, “We’re going to do everything we can to facilitate everything ... because I would like to see this project done sooner rather than later.”
The project along New Haven Harbor at the mouth of the West River between Elm and Main streets, back when John Picard was mayor and was first announced over four years ago by Mayor Ed O’BrienThe project has been billed by the developer as America’s first upscale waterfront outlet mall. In addition to 80 stores and five restaurants, it would offer a public waterfront promenade with a 200-seat amphitheater.Charney said he’s heard from at least 200 residents regarding concerns about The Haven security and future — and has consistently brought that issue up at the beginning of City Council meetings. He said the developer should answer questions.There is talk among residents of homeless and others breaking into the boarded up homes and increasing the risk for fire, but that can neither be confirmed nor denied, Deputy Chief Joseph Perno said.“Most buildings are in very poor condition inside,” Perno said.Charney said area residents report witnessing changes at the properties, such as windows being open and shut and conditions being present that weren’t there before.
“I just want progress,” he said.Representatives of The Haven developers have said designers have worked to preserve and enhance the site’s connection to Long Island Sound.
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group later joined The Haven Group. Simon, owner of the Clinton Crossing outlets in Clinton and the Crystal Mall in Waterford, is one of the largest shopping center developers in the world.The plans include 80 stores and five full-service restaurants.
The Haven spent years in the acquisition stage as the developers negotiated with 57 property owners.
Armstrong has said The Haven would pay $2 million in annual property tax and create more than $15 million in incremental sales tax for the state, as well as 800 full-time and 400 part-time jobs, plus 800 construction jobs using all Connecticut-based contractors.
Casino, sports betting bills scheduled for hearing Tuesday
Brian Hallenbeck
In his budget address last week, Gov. Ned Lamont mentioned the state’s need to “enact new sources of revenues, such as sports betting and internet wagering.”
He said nothing about casino expansion.
Nevertheless, there figures to be plenty of talk about such topics in the weeks ahead, starting Tuesday, when the legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee takes testimony on four gaming bills, one of which seeks to “fix” the 2017 law that authorized the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to build an East Windsor casino.
Another bill would create the Connecticut Gaming Commission and launch a competitive-bidding process for a resort casino. A third bill deals with the legalization of sports betting while a fourth would legalize sports betting and online gambling and keno.
The hearing is set for 10 a.m. in Room 1E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
State Sen. Cathy Osten, a Sprague Democrat, and a host of other southeastern Connecticut lawmakers are behind the bill that would eliminate the requirement that the two casino-owning tribes secure federal approval of their amended gaming agreements with the state before proceeding with the East Windsor project. That requirement was a condition of the law that authorized the project.
While the U.S. Department of the Interior has recognized the Mohegans’ agreement, it has not acted on the Mashantuckets’ agreement, prompting the state and the tribe to pursue a federal lawsuit against Interior, and members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation to call for Interior's inspector general to investigate.
The state and the tribes believe MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas casino operator, managed to influence Interior’s handling of the tribes’ agreements, derailing the East Windsor project. Amid the delay, MGM has opened a nearly $1 billion resort casino in Springfield, Mass., siphoning business from the tribes’ southeastern Connecticut casinos.
Proponents of the East Windsor “fix” believe it can be taken up — and passed — as is, without being tied to other gaming proposals.
Some lawmakers, including many in the southeastern delegation, also believe sports betting can be dealt with as a separate issue. Another bill submitted by Osten would allow the Mashantuckets and the Mohegans to provide sports betting at their casinos and via mobile devices from anywhere in the state. The measure also would authorize the Connecticut Lottery Corp. to operate online keno within the state “pursuant to agreements” with the tribes.
Rhode Island introduced sports betting at two casinos late last year and is considering authorizing mobile sports betting from within that state. Massachusetts also is considering sports betting legislation.
Rep. Joe Verrengia, the West Hartford Democrat who co-chairs the public safety committee, has said he favors a comprehensive approach to gaming legislation as well as the creation of a commission, modeled on the one in place in Massachusetts, to oversee state-approved gaming.
The creation of a Connecticut Gaming Commission is part of a bill that would establish a competitive-bidding process for a resort casino in the state. MGM Resorts, which has proposed a Bridgeport casino project, is pushing the legislation for a third time. While a 2017 bill proposing competitive bidding failed to reach the floor of the House, last year’s version was approved there, 77-73, but did not get a vote in the Senate.
Fifteen lawmakers representing the Bridgeport and New Haven areas have signed on to this year’s bill.
Wallingford dam work expected to resume in spring
Mary Ellen Godin
WALLINGFORD — Construction on the Dayton Pond Dam is expected to resume in April, according to Town Engineer Robert Baltramaitis.
The roughly $1 million project calls for removing the existing dam and replacing it.
The dam, near the West Dayton Hiil Road bridge, blocks the Muddy River to create Dayton Pond.
In the late 1990s, the state issued consent orders to municipalities to repair dams. A report by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s office of Adjudications found the Dayton Pond Dam’s spillway would not withstand a 100-year storm.
In 2015, the Town Council authorized Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. to enter into a contract with the DEEP to replace the dam.
Construction costs are valued at just over $960,000, and the town has an agreement with the state for a 50 percent reimbursement up to $600,000.
Work began in July and was halted for the winter. The affected area will be restored when construction is complete in the early summer, Baltramaitis said.
Republican Town Councilor John LeTourneau disagreed the dam needed to be replaced and opposed the project. He’s also concerned about the cost of clearing the debris.
“They clear cut a road, cut down trees,” LeTourneau said. “All the fish in the pond are gone. It’s another one of those silly state projects that ends up costing the town money.”
Developer close to breaking ground on 11 Crown St. project
Matthew Zabierek
MERIDEN — Construction of an 81-unit, mixed-income housing development at 11 Crown St. is expected to begin this month.
The city entered into a “ground lease” last week with 11 Crown Street Associates, part of the New Jersey-based Michaels Organization, for the downtown site once occupied by the Record-Journal building.
The $30 million project will include 63 rental apartments and 18 town-house style units, according to former Economic Development Director Juliet Burdelski. Construction is expected to begin this month and be completed next year, said Burdelski, who resigned late last week after more than a decade with the city.
Under the ground lease agreement, the development company will be allowed to develop the city-owned site and will gain ownership once construction is completed.
As part of the lease, the city has received a payment of $495,000 that is “earmarked for maintenance of the Meriden Green park and flood control site,” Burdelski said.
“Building permit fees will also be collected immediately. The development will be taxable following the construction period,” she said.
The development is subject to an 80 percent tax abatement authorized by the City Council for a 17-year period.
The 81 units will be comprised of 39 affordable units, 17 market rate units, and 25 units “set aside” for former Mills Memorial Apartments residents, Burdelski said.
The Crown Street development is the fourth downtown project in the city’s 5-year plan to relocate former residents of the Mills housing projects, which were demolished last year. Other projects in the city and Meriden Housing Authority’s plan include 24 Colony Street and Meriden Commons I & II.
“In total, the City has brought online 295 total housing units that leveraged over $100 million of private investment while demolishing 140 units of distressed public housing,” Burdelski said. “This is a milestone that we all should celebrate.”
Construction on the Crown Street site, which the city and developer expected would start last summer, was delayed due to “legal and site utility issues.”
“All issues have been addressed and we expect the developer to begin construction immediately,” Burdelski said.
The development will have two phases: an apartment building facing the Meriden Green complemented by row-style homes bordering South Colony and Crown Streets, according to project renderings.
“The design incorporates a nod to Meriden's industrial past while building new, state of the art homes that are timeless and consistent with the historic downtown character,” the city’s economic development website says.
The city purchased the site in 2014 using a $495,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city identified the Michaels Organization as the preferred developer through a bid process, according to a presentation given to the City Council in 2017. After the Michaels Organization determined the Record-Journal building could not be repurposed, the city applied for and received a $1.73 million grant to complete environmental remediation at the 1.6-acre site and demolish the building.
Demolition was completed in 2017.