Bridgeport’s Steelpointe developers moving ahead with 'high-end' housing
BRIDGEPORT — The developers of the Steelpointe Harbor site
are finally moving ahead with the long-promised housing phase of the project —
an initial 400 “high-end market-rate” apartments costing $100 million to build.
“I’m looking to create a market here in Bridgeport that does
not exist today,” said Robert Christoph Jr. who, with his father and their
Bridgeport Landing Development organization, has spent a slow but steady
several years transforming the East Side land situated between the waterfront
and Interstate 95.
At month’s end the City Council will consider authorizing a
tax break the Christophs are seeking to help finance the apartments, which will
be located off of East Main Street, south of Stratford Avenue. A public hearing
has been scheduled for Dec. 20, followed by a joint Dec. 29 meeting of the
council’s economic and contracts committees.
Although
the Steelpointe redevelopment was proposed a few decades ago, visitors and
passersby will still find plenty of vacant land.
The first tenants — Bass
Pro Shops, Chipotle restaurant and a Starbucks coffee shop — opened in
late 2015, followed by a marina and then, in 2019, Boca Oyster Bar.
Meanwhile a
luxury movie theater announced in 2015 as another draw was never built.
The Christophs have made no secret of their desire to bring
a certain lower Fairfield County “Gold Coast” cachet to their slice of the
less-wealthy Bridgeport. For the last few years, for example, they
have hosted a luxury boat show at Steelpointe.
And two years ago they stated they wanted to break ground on
the market-rate housing in 2020. But those plans were delayed by the COVID-19
pandemic.
“So right now, we’re going to watch what’s going on in the
marketplace,” Christoph
Jr. said in June 2020. “At the moment we’re not changing anything. We’re
watching the market and going to react to what the market demand is.”
This week Christoph said, “I think the time is now (for the
housing). Bridgeport has a real opportunity and it’s moment to really shine.”
He declined to say when the formal groundbreaking may occur.
There will also be a retail component, and potentially another 1,600 housing
units built in the future.
The proposed tax agreement before the council calls for a
two-year construction period and an additional year to occupy the units. Under
that deal, Bridgeport would receive $23,900 in taxes for those three years the
apartments are being built/leased, then $1.26 million in year four, and then,
in years five through 10, the payments would increase by 2 percent, reaching
$1.47 million.
“He’s got the right to ask. Doesn’t mean everybody on the
council will vote for it,” said Scott Burns, who co-chairs the economic
development committee and the council’s budget committee.
But, Burns added, “I was glad to see they’re ready to roll.
I think everybody wants Steelpointe to be developed.”
The Christophs’ initial contract with Bridgeport for
Steelpointe required they also either build or help finance affordable and
so-called workforce housing representing 10 percent of their total market-rate
units. And most of it can be around town rather than all at Steelpointe.
So, for example, these initial 400 proposed market-rate
units must be matched with 40 lower-price ones. If 2,000 market-rate apartments
are eventually built, the Christophs are responsible for adding 200 affordable
units to the city’s stock.
The developers have been working to get ahead on that
requirement mainly in partnership with Building Neighborhoods Together,
formerly Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust.
“They’ve invested over seven figures in our projects in a
number of different neighborhoods in Bridgeport and generally been a great
partner,” Noah Gotbaum, BNT’s head from 2019 until his departure last month,
said this week.
Gotbaum this summer had
sought to raise the alarm about an affordable housing “crisis” in Bridgeport.
But this week he said he also recognizes why the Christophs and city officials
want to attract wealthier residents as well
“Personally I think we need more market-rate housing and we
need more affordable housing,” Gotbaum said. “And Bridgeport Landing is doing
both.”
Two sites key to Bridgeport’s revival may soon be redeveloped
BRIDGEPORT — What do a former rubber factory and a shuttered
off-track betting facility have in common?
The contiguous East Side properties — the AGI Rubber Co. and
Winners Shoreline Star — are prominently situated on the edge of downtown off
of Stratford Avenue and Kossuth Street, along the Pequonnock River and over
Interstate 95 from the Steelpointe Harbor redevelopment.
And in the not too distant future each could play a key role
in the next phase of that neighborhood’s and the city’s economic revitalization.
AGI Rubber at 141 Stratford Ave. would, under a deal being
negotiated between Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration and local developer Anthony
Stewart, be transformed into a mixed-used business and residential project. The
plan includes retail, anchored by an IHOP restaurant, and a 10-story building
with 200 units of market-rate and affordably priced housing.
“It’s a beautiful project,” Stewart told Hearst Connecticut
Media, confirming he and a partner are trying to work out the final details
with City Hall.
Over the last decade the closed factory, which Bridgeport
obtained through a tax foreclosure, has mainly made headlines for catching fire
on multiple occasions. In 2013 there were plans for an office complex
there but
those fell through in part because of questions about the complexities and
expenses involved in an environmental cleanup.
Stewart said those challenges remain.
“That’s part of the discussion,” he said. “It is not clean.”
In 2013 then-Bridgeport Economic Development Director David
Kooris said, “It’s going to cost a lot of money to remediate.”
The
federal Environmental Protection Agency two years later awarded Bridgeport
$200,000 to help prepare AGI for redevelopment. It is not clear if that has
been spent and Ganim’s economic development office did not answer requests this
week for comment.
Stewart said he late last year responded to a request for
proposals for AGI issued by the Ganim administration around
the same time Shoreline Star went on the market.
“It took several months before they awarded it to us,” he
said. “It took a few months after that before we got the letter of intent. And
now we’re working on the LDA (land disposition agreement).” That deal would
ultimately need City Council approval.
Stewart, owner of Ashlar Construction, was raised in the
East End but made his contracting career out-of-town. In
recent years he has returned to do business in Bridgeport. If his AGI
proposal moves forward, it would be his third local project behind the
recently-completed East End public library and the
delayed-but-still-under-construction Honey Locust Square, both located further
up Stratford Avenue.
“I just want to try to help develop this whole (Stratford
Avenue) area,” Stewart said. He said the proposed AGI apartment complex will
have balconies overlooking downtown and out at the harbor, plus there will be
an outdoor patio area for “small-venue type events” along the river, and a
canoe launch.
Next to the AGI land, at 255 Kossuth St., is the larger —
nearly 20 acres — former Winners Shoreline Star. It has been the location of a
jai alai fronton, a greyhound track and, more recently, an off-track betting
facility operated by Sportech Venues. It had also been considered over the
years for various casino operations that never moved forward.
And while, thanks to Stewart, the city is currently making
more progress turning around AGI, there has been some activity at Shoreline
Star, too.
Shoreline Star closed Sept. 12 after Sportech’s lease was
not renewed by property owner Susan Zeff, widow
of original owner Robert Zeff, who died last June.
“The landlord has other plans for the property which they
are attempting to bring to fruition,” Sportech President Ted Taylor said in an
email.
The property was put on the market in fall 2020 and listed
by Cushman & Wakefield. According to the
Bridgeport tax assessor’s website, it was appraised at $4,768,420. The 2020
property tax bill was $159,535.
Susan Zeff could not be reached for comment and, according
to Cushman & Wakefield, that company’s contract to market the site has
expired.
Stewart said given his intentions for the AGI property next
door he is very interested in who his future neighbors will be, but had no
information to offer other than the asking price — $10 million.
“But it’s worth every bit of it,” Stewart said. “It’s an
ideal location for some kind of a major developer. It’s too rich for my blood.
I wish someone would take a serious look at that.”
Cushman
& Wakefield had escribed the land as “steps from Bridgeport’s
Central Business District (downtown), the Bridgeport Intermodal Transportation
Center — Metro-North, Amtrack and Greater Bridgeport Transit — and the 52-acre
Steelepoint Harbor Development.”
Under a just-approved
overhaul of Bridgeport’s zoning map and regulations that takes effect Jan. 1,
Shoreline Star is designated for “mainly offices, residences, and other
commercial uses.”
City Council President Aidee Nieves, who represents the East
Side neighborhood, said companies operating shipping warehouses have previously
expressed interest, but she would oppose that type of development for something
of higher quality.
Shoreline Star is also in state Rep. Antonio Felipe’s
legislative district. He too had heard the warehouse rumors.
“We want to make sure when we develop that area it has
something that will stand the test of time,” Felipe said, suggesting as a
possibility an athletic center with a professional soccer component.
Another state representative from Bridgeport, Christopher
Rosario, who also represents portions of the East Side, agreed professional
soccer would be a good use of the land.
“We probably have the market to support it in Fairfield
County, soccer being a big sport in Latin America,” Rosario said. “We have a
very diverse community here in Bridgeport with Brazilians, Portuguese,
Colombians who love soccer. And a lot of youth soccer activity, especially in
Bridgeport. That’s a viable option.”
Another neighbor is the Christoph family, who have spent
years slowly building out their Steelpointe development on the opposite,
harbor-side of Interstate 95 from AGI and Shoreline Star. Its main attractions
so far are a Bass Pro Shops, a new marina and Boca Oyster Bar, with 400 units
of market-rate housing on the horizon.
Robert Christoph Jr. said he had previously spoken with the
Zeffs about Shoreline Star but “at the moment I’m not in conversations with
Mrs. Zeff at all.”
He said the ideal project for that site “would be something
that helps create and bring jobs and opportunity to the city at a high level.
Housing. Retail. It’s a really unique site.”
As for Sportech’s departure from Shoreline Star, Taylor said
that, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, business had been “doing OK”
and was “on a par with previous ‘normal’ years pre-Covid.”
Taylor also indicated his company may find another home in
the city, particularly since Connecticut expanded legalized sports gambling in
September.
“Always a shame to close a business, but we definitely hope
to be back in Bridgeport in the future,” Taylor said.
School updates, new police building top Milford’s five-year capital plan
Saul Flores
MILFORD - The city’s schools, sewers and police top the list
of potential expenditures in the city’s five-year capital improvement plan.
The five-year capital improvement plan totals just over $190
million with education ($88.7 million), sewers ($33.5 million) and police ($30
million) topping the list.
Chief of Staff Justin Rosen said the plan was a blueprint
for future capital expenditures, but was only a list of possible projects.
“It does have a hefty price tag, but this does not obligate
the city to any level of funding or commit to any project,” said Rosen. “This
is merely a planning document we use to outline areas we would like to improve
in our schools, infrastructure, wastewater system, buildings, vehicle fleet.”
The cost for the capital improvement plan in 2021-22 year is
$40.6 million; 2022-23 is $54.8 million; 2023-24 is $28.1 million; 2024-25 is
$43.9 million and 2025-26 is $22.3 million.
“With all of the new revenue coming in through recovery act
funds, infrastructure bills, build back better plans, it’s all the more reason
to have a comprehensive capital improvement plan that outlines any projects we
may want to utilize that funding for,” said Rosen. “This merely helps move the
process along as we apply for any level of grant funding for these projects.”
Rosen added that the city compiles such a list every year.
This year’s plan, which covers 2021-26, could be on the Board of Aldermen’s
January agenda.
School projects were the big-ticket item in the education
part of the capital improvement plan. The Board of Education hopes to see
upgrades or additions to Harborside, Live Oaks and Calf Pen Meadow schools.
Harborside, at $15.7 million in anticipated updates, tops that list.
For the police, the only item in the capital improvement
plan is the construction cost of a new headquarters building.
As explained in the capital improvement plan, the existing
police building was constructed in 1979, and the size of the building was
scaled back from its original design to conserve costs at the time.
Consequently, the building lacks space to expand personnel, equipment, missions
or storage.
A new headquarters will increase the space in the identification
bureau of the detective division to allow for on-site evaluations and analysis
of evidence, according to the plan. In addition, the new building would offer
increased office space, larger locker rooms, increased storage space for all
divisions, and more.
When it comes to the sewers, the plan covers various
projects from the planned Milford Point and Gulf Pond pump upgrades to
repairing the roofs at both Beaverbrook and Housatonic waste water treatment
facilities.
Other categories in the capital improvement plan were fire,
$1.2 million; roads/drains, $15.8 million; bridges, $655,000; and $12.2 million
for recreation.
Lauretti: Bids in for Constitution Boulevard extension work in Shelton
SHELTON — Three firms have expressed interest in the plan to
extend Constitution Boulevard West — with bids coming in between $4.5 million
and nearly $10 million, according to Mayor Mark Lauretti.
Extending the roadway and use of the Mas property has been on
the table for years, but Lauretti began the most recent push in April when he
presented preliminary plans for creating the road leading into the city-owned
land, which would be developed into a manufacturing corporate park.
Lauretti would not identify the three firms interested in
the Mas property, saying only that two are Connecticut based. In the end,
Lauretti said these companies could bring some 400 to 500 jobs to the city.
“Representatives from two of the three interested
(companies) walked the land Tuesday,” said Lauretti, adding that once a
contract finalized, the city and companies would submit a joint application to
the Planning and Zoning Commission for development of the site.
Lauretti said he expects the cost to be some $5 million for
the road work, which would allow for access into the 70-acre, city-owned Mas
property. Lauretti said three “good sized” manufacturers are interested and
deals with two could be struck soon.
According to the mayor, state leadership has agreed to cover
$5 million.
“We’re ready to go,” Lauretti said. “I will be going to the
state and ask that this be moved forward as quickly as possible.”
“We’ve been talking about this for 30 years … this is coming
as no surprise to anybody,” Lauretti added. “This just continues the economic
boom for the city under our leadership. Shelton is an employment hub in
Connecticut, and the governor’s office and state leaders recognize that, that’s
why we are able to get money for the road work.”
The Inland Wetlands Commission, at its meeting last month,
approved the city’s permit application for extension of the roadway, with
street construction occurring within regulated wetlands areas.
Lauretti has stated that one major manufacturer — whose name
he would not give because negotiations are ongoing — is seeking a
270,000-square-foot building on the property. Negotiations have been going on
for about a year, and he said he hoped a deal could be struck within the coming
days.
He said the plans remain in the initial stages, with
proposals still needed to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the
State Traffic Commission.
“We are working with the state on a grant for the road
construction,” Lauretti said. “I have spoken to (Gov. Ned Lamont), and he said
he’s onboard.”
The application approved by Inland Wetlands Thursday is for
phase one roadway construction only, with a portion of Bridgeport Avenue to be
widened along with intersection improvements. Portions of Cots Street and
Blacks Hill Road will also be reconstructed as part of this project.
This work also calls for the city to purchase 55 and 56
Blacks Hill Road, according to the application submitted to Inland Wetlands.
Plans on the city website show an extended roadway with
seven separate lots, one of which is 10.6 acres of designated open space. In
all, there is a 276,250-square-foot building, two 105,000-square-foot
buildings, and two 34,250-square-foot buildings, along with related parking for
each structure.
The 70-acre parcel — known as the Mas property — sits near
Bridgeport Avenue, and the roadway plans include extending Constitution
Boulevard to reach Shelton Avenue/Route 108. Lauretti stated that a zone change
would be needed, requiring plans to go before the Planning and Zoning
Commission at some point.
The Mas property is now vacant. It is mostly wooded with
considerable stone ledges and several ponds, including one some 600 feet long
and 250 to 300 feet wide, and lies between Bridgeport Avenue, Cots Street, Tisi
Drive, Sunwood Condos on Nells Rock Road, Regent Drive, Walnut Avenue, and
Kings Highway. Part of the land abuts the back of the Perry Hill School
property.
Allyn Street apartment developer looks to refinance $21M project’s debt
A$21 million effort to remodel a onetime Hartford carriage
shop on Allyn Street into 66 apartments faced construction overruns and delays,
pushing up costs and delaying the start of rental incomes.
As a result, owner Paul Khakshouri is seeking to refinance
his loans, including a roughly $6.6 million loan with the Capital Region
Development Authority. The CRDA board is scheduled to vote on the proposal next
week.
CRDA Executive Director Michael Freimuth said federal
historic preservation demands for the 103-109 Allyn St. project were steeper
than anticipated.
COVID-19 forced construction delays and cost overruns. Then,
in the summer of 2020, the basement flooded badly.
“They ran into three relatively significant issues, any one
which could be dealt with, but three were a problem,” Freimuth said.
Attempts to reach developer Paul Khakshouri were
unsuccessful.
Freimuth said the Carriage House apartments are currently
93.5% occupied.
Rents are lower than hoped but still within projections, he
said. One ground-floor retail tenant has moved in and another is in
negotiations.
Freimuth said Khakshouri originally borrowed $5.8 million
from CRDA, but another $750,000 was added due to cost overruns. The project
also received funding through historic tax credits and a mortgage from United
Bank, which has since been acquired by People’s United Bank, according to
Freimuth.
People’s United Bank did defer some interest on its loan
during the height of the pandemic, Freimuth said.
Khakshouri needs approval from CRDA to refinance his first
mortgage.
“In this case, there were so many issues we had to
restructure our note as well,” Freimuth said.
The proposed changes to the CRDA loan terms would have
Khaksouri pay the note down by $1.4 million, and the repayment term stretched
from five to 10 years.
UConn eyes new residence hall on Storrs campus; $6.5M approved for design phase
The University of Connecticut board of trustees Wednesday
voted to spend $6.5 million on the design phase of a new residence hall on its
Storrs campus.
The project will not officially move forward until the board
approves a construction budget.
The new residence hall, which has been part of the
university’s master plan since 2015, would be located on the South Campus and
house about 650 students with occupancy planned for the fall of 2024.
The university said about 12,000 students live in the
school's residence halls at Storrs in an average year.
The $6.5 million will be paid via state bond funding.
Similar bond funding was used for the university’s Werth Tower, which opened in
2016.