Plans call for $425 million revamp of Westbrook Outlets, including apartments and town homes
A Hartford-based developer is proposing joining forces with
the French company that owns the Westbrook Outlets retail
center and redeveloping it into a sprawling mixed use complex off of Interstate
95.
Representatives for Hartford-based Lexington Partners and officials with the
outlet center went before the town's Zoning commission on Monday night to do a
pre-application presentation of their plans. The $425 million project that
is being proposed would include 595 apartments, 100 town homes, a 100-room
hotel and 75,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants on the 49.7 acre
property on Flat Rock Place, Town Planner Peter Gillespie said Tuesday.
Part of the redevelopment calls for the demolition of four
retail buildings on the outlet center property.
Right now, the biggest hurdle for the project, according
to Gillespie, is whether the developers will be able to get permission
from state officials to build a community septic system to service the massive
mixed-use development. The developers are currently meeting with officials of
the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in an effort to get
one of the approvals they need.
Christopher Reilly, Lexington Partners' president of
property management, said the development of a community septic system "is
something that is really daunting, a very complex process." He said work
by experts the company has hired to address the feasibility of building the
community septic system have been working about 18 months trying to figure out
how to address the problem.
"We need a certain (capacity) level in order for this project to make sense for us," Reilly said. "We're going to spend millions of dollars to build and then operate a sewer system."
Westbrook is one of a number of shoreline communities that
doesn't have public sewers and while the outlet center has a community septic
system, Gillespie said it is not robust enough to accommodate the needs of the
residential component that is being proposed for the site.
"Based on what they told us, the developers will spend
the remainder of this year getting the necessary permits and approvals for the
project," he said. "They told us construction would begin at some
point during 2025."
Reilly said what types of retail will occupy the mixed-use
complex are still a work in progress. He said given the amount of available
retail space, the complex is unlikely to include a supermarket.
Gillespie said the zoning commission would need to approve several changes to existing zoning regulations in order for the project to move forward.
Outlet center giant Tanger Outlets sold
the Westbrook retail center to a limited liability company, T Westbrook Center,
for $40 million in May 2017, according to municipal records. Records
filed with the Connecticut Secretary of State’s office at the time identified
the principal of T Westbrook Center LLC as Hoche Partners Real Estate, which is
a U.S. affiliate of a French company.
Officials with the New Jersey-based company that operates
the outlet center, Levin Management, were not immediately available for
comment.
Since the sale of the property, Gillespie said the level of
tenants at Westbrook Outlets has declined steadily. The retail center has
290,000 square feet of space, but is only about 25 percent occupied, he said.
"It's one of our largest taxpayers and so there is concern about its future," he said of the retail center.
At the same time, Gillespie said, some people in town
"are concerned about the impact that such a large mixed use project could
have on a small town like ours in terms of traffic and other things."
Lexington Partners' expertise is in high-end apartments and
town homes. Although the company's portfolio includes projects in Georgia,
South Carolina and Tennessee, the vast majority of its properties are in
Connecticut, including five in Hartford, one in Old Saybrook and an
11-story office building near New Haven's Union Station.
Reilly said he envisions a broad mix of people living in the
Westbrook mixed-use complex.
"Some of the people who will be living there are older
people who have made their money and want to stay in the area," he said.
"I also see teachers and other people who work in the community living
there. And I think we'll also see people who like the shore lifestyle, but can
work remotely most of the time and occasionally take the train into work
because it is so close by."
Wallingford hopes to build pedestrian bridge along Quinnipiac Linear Trail with $700K in state funds
Christian Metzger
WALLINGFORD — Nearly $700,000 in state funds would allow the
Town of Wallingford to build a pedestrian bridge as part of it Linear Trail
improvement project.
The funding –
$690,000 – comes from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for
the purpose of expanding a portion of the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail.
The span pedestrian bridge would be built at the trailhead of Fireworks Island
on the Quinnipiac River, adjacent to Main Street. Currently, the trailhead is
accessible only via a privately-owned vehicle bridge.
The new bridge would be accessible not only to bikes, but to
wheelchair users as well, and provide a new connection to Main Street that
won’t require having to cut through the adjacent condominium parking lot.
According to Alison Kapushinski, the head of the town’s
engineering department, it will allow pedestrians easier access to the trail
and a route towards the center of town.
“Following the completion of Phase 3B, pedestrians and
bicyclists will have an alternate connection from Main Street in Yalesville to
Hall Avenue, heading toward the center of town, avoiding some busy areas of
Route 150,” Kapushinski said.
The Quinnipiac River Linear Trail Advisory Committee plans
to hold a public meeting Tuesday at town hall at 7 p.m, to discuss their
construction plans and take hear from the public.
While a bridge currently exists to the trailhead, the
necessity for a new pedestrian bridge arose following failed negotiations with
the existing owner to buy or share the existing span to make additional
improvements to the area. Currently, the gravel lot at the end of the trail is
used as spare parking for the condominiums as much as it is for those who wish
to use the trail, creating a potential safety hazard.
The money from DEEP was provided via the Urban Act Grant
Program, which allocates funds to eligible municipalities that are considered
economically distressed, and uses money for a range of economic development,
transportation, recreation, and other social services projects.
State Rep. Mary Mushinsky played a key role in securing the
funds from the state, having worked with Rep. Liz Linehan and House Speaker
Matt Ritter to advocate for the necessity of the grant. The bridge project
itself already has $400,000 allocated to it via the state Department of
Transportation, and the trail committee secured an additional $150,000 in DEEP
funding for design, engineering, and permitting.
Mushinksky has long been an advocate for the trail and other
environmental and recreational projects in Wallingford over her career as
representative.
“The Quinnipiac River Linear Trail will have its own bridge
specifically for pedestrians and bicyclists, located just south of the private
bridge,” Mushinksky said. “Only cars can use the existing private bridge, so
there have been conflicts between pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair
riders who are trying to get to the trail and neighboring condominium owners.
The new pedestrian bridge will eliminate the conflict in use of the bridge.”
Further details about the timeline for the project will be
provided at next week’s meeting. Residents are encouraged to submit questions
or comments online to the engineering department at
engineering@wallingfordct.gov.