STAMFORD — A developer looking to build an extended-stay
hotel in Stamford’s downtown argues that 25 off-site parking spaces would be
more than enough to accommodate guests, but the city’s zoning regulations need
to be changed before it’s allowed.
Tullamore LLC,
which is affiliated with Greenwich-based Wellbuilt Company, has requested the
text change as part of a proposal to build a 10-story,
99-room hotel with ground-floor restaurant space at the site of what
is now a parking lot alongside Curley’s Diner.
Currently, Stamford’s zoning regulations require there to be
0.5 parking spaces per room for regular hotels that are within 500 feet of a
public garage in the Center City Zoning District and 0.75 spaces per room for
extended-stay hotels.
Wellbuilt wants the Zoning Board to be able to reduce the
required parking spaces to 0.25 per room — or one space for every four rooms —
for hotels with fewer than 100 rooms in total.
The Planning Board recently voted 3-2 to recommend that the
Zoning Board approve the text change as well as Wellbuilt’s proposed site plan.
Raymond Mazzeo of Redniss & Mead laid out Wellbuilt’s
applications at a Planning Board meeting last week. Theresa Dell, the chair of
the board, asked Mazzeo how the developer decided to propose a reduction
from 0.75 to 0.25 — which she said seemed like “quite a jump.”
“It is, and that was supported by our research” of hotels
in Stamford and other cities, Mazzeo said. “I mean, really, we would go to
zero if we could because we don’t think it’s necessary. ... Across the country,
you have urban hotels that don’t have their own parking and rely on the city
infrastructure, and it works fine.”
Mazzeo said the developer has been in talks with the city
about guests potentially using the public Bell Street Garage. It has also had
discussions with the operators of the private parking garages for the office
buildings at 1010 and 1055 Washington Boulevard.
A study commissioned by WellBuilt found that either one of
the private garages “has much more empty parking than the proposed hotel would
ever need to accommodate hotel patrons and employees.”
Mazzeo described office garages, which sit empty at night,
as “untapped resources” in the city’s downtown.
“The idea is that we don’t need much more parking, if any,
in our downtown. We have plenty,” Mazzeo said. “We just need to start using it
more efficiently.”
But some Planning Board members were concerned that the
developer didn’t yet have a contract with either of the private garages.
“Can you clarify ... what agreement you’ve made with these
buildings?” asked board member Michael Buccino.
“We just have a high-level understanding,” said Lisa
Feinberg, an attorney representing Wellbuilt. “They said, ‘Sure, we are
completely open to that.'”
“So why don’t you guys move forward and sign a contract?”
Buccino asked.
“We’re in the very beginning of an approval process,”
Feinberg said.
She said at least one of the garages “is absolutely going to
work,” and Mazzeo said securing a location would be a condition of
approval.
Vice Chair Jay Tepper was still concerned.
“It would seem to me, when it comes time to go on before the
Planning Board, that you’d have something locked in, that we would have a more
definite knowledge of what parking spaces would be available,” Tepper said.
But board member Jennifer Godzeno called it a
chicken-and-egg situation.
“If the development is not approved, then it doesn’t make
sense for them to sign in ink to rent a certain number of parking spaces,” she
said. “But we know that there are several thousand parking spaces that are
underutilized in the downtown.”
Buccino said he was having trouble supporting a change to
the city’s regulations without a broader plan for making spaces in private
garages available to non-tenants and marketing their availability.
“Approving something ... for the future and all other
applications without actually having those spaces available, to me, it just
seems like we’re a little bit ahead of ourselves,” he said.
Dell, Godzeno and Michael Totilo voted to recommend the text
change. Buccino and Tepper dissented.
Many of the hotel’s guests would likely come from Stamford’s
train station either by foot or ride-hailing, Mazzeo told the board.
The hotel’s lobby would be situated toward the back of the
site, and the restaurant would be at the front facing Columbus Park. In between
the lobby and the restaurant would be a covered courtyard for drop-offs and
pick-ups.
Cars would pull into a driveway on the left side of the
building to enter the courtyard. They would then continue to a driveway on the
right side of the building to exit to the street. The property’s right side
would also have a “pedestrian corridor” connecting the Summer Street parking
garage to West Park Place.
Mazzeo said that under the city’s current regulations, the
restaurant wouldn’t be required to provide parking. But patrons would be able
to use public parking garages or on-street parking.
“The developer thought (a hotel and restaurant) was the
right use for this space, particularly with the size of the property really not
lending itself to a ton of parking and certainly not structured parking,”
Mazzeo said about the roughly 12,000-square-foot site. “One of the thoughts,
apart from market factors, was that a hotel use really lends itself better to
offsite parking” than a residential use.
“But it will take some amendments to the regulations to get
there,” he said.
Mazzeo said the developer has been in touch with two
different companies, Mint House and Locale, about potentially operating the
hotel.
Curley’s Diner owner Maria Aposporos previously
told The Stamford Advocate that she thought the hotel was a good idea and
that it could bring more business to the diner.
New Fairfield beach house project estimates go more than $1M over budget, town engineer says
NEW FAIRFIELD — One of the town’s American Rescue Plan
Act-funded projects has hit a financial roadblock.
The New
Fairfield Town Park beach house reconstruction project — for
which $700,000 in ARPA money was allocated — has come in over budget, town
engineer Antonio Iadarola told the Board of Selectmen during its Feb. 2
meeting.
Replacing the existing structure — a
more-than-50-year-old building with changing room facilities, restrooms, a
lifeguard office and first aid room — was one of 10 projects for which New
Fairfield voters approved
$4.1 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds in October 2022.
Iadarola told the Board of Selectmen nearly all regulatory
compliance approvals needed for the project have been secured, but the $700,000
in ARPA funds and $98,276 in town capital allocated for the project fall short
of the estimated cost to complete it.
After receiving a $2.8 million estimate last fall, Iadarola
said changes were made that lowered it to approximately $1.8 million. He said
he sought estimates elsewhere, but they still came in at least $1 million
over budget.
“We’re not the only municipality dealing with an over-budget
issue on very small municipal projects. Municipal projects under 5,000
square-feet are all pretty much coming in over budget,” Iadarola said, noting
that an overabundance of projects, as well as inflation-induced cost increases,
are likely to blame.
After bringing the “major budget issue” to the attention of
First Selectwoman Melissa Lindsey, he said officials decided to finish the
design of the project, put it out to bid and find a funding solution later.
“Once we have a realistic number … we would have some
discussions about alternative ways to fund the shortfall,” Iadarola told the
selectmen.
He said Lindsey also had him cut back the scope of the
project, which still calls for a structure around the same size as the current
beach house.
Iadarola said the building would have a small kitchenette
area, medical office and some cold storage in the basement. It would
also — unlike the current beach house — be fully
ADA-accessible, according to Iadarola, noting the inclusion of a ground-level
handicapped bathroom.
“Other than that, the building would serve the same purpose
(with) no add-ons,” he said, adding that the new beach house would be
“architecturally pleasing” and complement neighboring homes in the area.
Downtown sewer improvements
The most costly of the town’s 10 ARPA projects is a $1.6 million sewer project aimed at addressing the
lack of sewer and water infrastructure in the center of town through the design
and permitting of a connection from New Fairfield’s downtown commercial zone
to Danbury’s
regional wastewater treatment plant.
Town officials have said the sewer project would also
support the future environmental health of the town, as the septic systems
serving businesses in New Fairfield’s downtown pose environmental concerns, and
the aging septic systems put Ball Pond Brook — which passes through the
commercial zone — at risk of contamination.
Iadarola said the project specifically looks to provide a
sewer system for the downtown business district, as well as the nearby 55+
residential living communities.
“More importantly, it is totally designed to accommodate the
flows that come out of our … schools and other public buildings … which are all
under the original septic system,” he said, noting that the project would be
done in three phases.
Iadarola said the first phase would focus on providing
sewers for the business district, as well as building a primary pump
station in the center of town and a force main that “takes that flow and brings
it to the collection system in Danbury.”
With no objections from the Water Pollution Control
Authority regarding the system layout, Iadarola said the town plans to move
into “full design-development” before putting the project out to bid.
With Lindsey concerned about potential funding for the
project, Iadarola said they plan to get the project “somewhat shovel-ready” and
determine what funding opportunities exist to support the first phase of the
work “if the town decides that it’s absolutely necessary.”
Community center feasibility study
Iadarola also discussed the ARPA-funded $25,000
study to explore developing a community center that provides public
gathering space, programming and services.
So far, Iadarola said officials have determined what
programs could go into the center and its ideal size — between 20,000 and
22,000 square feet.
The next step would be to get feedback from the public and
revise the project based on that input, he said. The town would then look at
about three potential sites for the center and develop a project that
could go to voters, he said.
Stormwater drainage project
While the town has addressed drainage problems affecting
public and private property “little by little” over the years, Iadarola said
the stormwater drainage project for which $150,000 in ARPA funds were
allocated aims to address an issue “of a much greater magnitude.”
“This is a significant drainage issue … on Arden Avenue in
the lower Ball Pond drainage basin,” he said, noting that it also affects
Merlin Avenue and runs through the Ore Hill Road area.
Iadarola said one of the problems associated with the
drainage issue is “significant erosion” that’s led to the loss of several trees
and creation of a roughly 20-foot-wide and approximately 12-foot-deep ravine
off Arden Avenue.
“The most important thing is all the sediment that’s been
dislodged ultimately ends up in Putnam Lake,” he said, noting that the town
could potentially face mandates or other legal issues because of it and is
“trying to take a responsible approach.”
With $30,000 in capital funding to start the design process,
Iadarola said the $150,000 in ARPA funding will be used to secure properties
and “a significant number of easements” needed to make stormwater drainage
improvements — a lot of which will need to be done on private property.
“We’re well on our way in executing this project,” said
Iadarola, noting that the town has started talking to property owners —
including one looking to donate some land, which the town is considering.
Iadarola said the town should decide in next month how to
move forward.
In addition to finishing the design, he said next steps
would include holding a town meeting for approval of the purchase of easements
and properties for the work. After that, Iadarola said the project would be
positioned for future funding.
Iadarola said construction cost estimates would come in
the next phase.
Other projects
The other ARPA projects New Fairfield voters approved
included $615,000 for public safety improvements, $455,000 for renovations to
the Company A firehouse, $265,000 for pandemic premium pay for public health
and safety personnel, $150,000 for small business grants, $65,000 for a fire
marshal vehicle and $25,000 for an emergency housing fund.
“The communication radios are being looked at carefully. We
have the subcommittee (meeting) more regularly and have started our consultant
to come out and get that started,” Lindsey said at the selectmen meeting,
adding that security improvements to municipal buildings are also moving
forward.
“The cameras and security parts in Town Hall and the annex
and all the town buildings have been ordered, so we’re just waiting on those,”
she said.
Construction of $70M cutting-edge, first in CT, proton therapy cancer facility to begin in spring
Construction of a cutting-edge cancer center in Connecticut
is scheduled to begin this spring at 932 Northrop Road in Wallingford, town
officials say.
Joe Mirra, the town's Economic Development Commission
chairman, said Tuesday that representatives of Hartford Healthcare and Yale New Haven Health System have told
him construction of the 25,000 square foot Connecticut Proton Therapy Center
should start in March or April. The two healthcare organizations, which are
among Connecticut's largest, are developing the facility as part of a joint
venture.
The state Office of Health Strategy approved the joint
application for the center in 2022. Costs
are estimated at $70 million for the facility, which will be the first of its
kind in the state.
"It's extremely important to the community, the state
and the region," Mirra said of the radiation-type therapy. "In most
cases, you have to go to Boston or New York City for this type of care. And for
some it becomes a regular commute if you can't afford the cost of a hotel
room."
"We are on track to break ground in the coming months
and scheduled to begin treating patients in 2026," officials with the two
healthcare organization said through a joint statement released last
week. "We remain fully committed to the Connecticut Proton Therapy
Center. Like many projects nationwide, the Proton Center was delayed by the
pandemic."
When the new facility begins operating, cancer patients will
be treated with a highly targeted radiological proton therapy rather than
X-rays. The high energy beam of protons is used to treat many solid cancer
tumors, including tumors of the brain and central nervous system, eye,
gastrointestinal tract, head and neck, liver, lung, prostate, spine, as wells
as some breast tumors, according
to the application approved by the state Office of Health Strategy.
That type of therapy is now available only at a few
facilities in the Northeast, outside of Connecticut, officials with the joint
venture have said.
"We are proud and excited to bring this innovative and
life-changing therapy to the state, creating a destination for state-of-the art
cancer care," the statement form the joint venture read in part.
The Connecticut Proton Therapy Center was
approved by state health care regulators in April 2022.
Angela Mattie, a professor of management and medical
sciences at Quinnipiac University, said the collaborative effort between Yale
New Haven Health and Hartford Healthcare "is a real benefit to
patients that can only lead to better outcomes."
"Because of where this facility will be located,
essentially in the center of the state, it will increase access to a high level
of healthcare," Mattie said. "Patients who are in their most
vulnerable and sickest state will no longer have to travel long distances for
care."
She said that the development of the Proton Therapy Center
will only burnish the state's reputation.
"The one thing we have in this state is outstanding
healthcare," Mattie said. "Having a facility like this will
create a tremendous amount of intellectual capital that will only grow going
forward because it will allow both organizations to continue to attract the
best talent going forward."
Mirra said with the addition of the Proton Therapy Center in
Wallingford, "I can foresee the town and surrounding communities becoming
a significant medical hub." And surrounding businesses will really benefit
from the increased activity in town.
Port authority board members push back on Lamont’s merger proposal
John Penney
New London ― A bill proposed this month by Gov. Ned Lamont
would rename the Connecticut Port Authority and essentially absorb the group
into the state’s airport authority.
The bill calls for identifying the port authority as the
“Connecticut Maritime Authority” and making it a subsidiary of the airport
group, according to a copy of the act provided to The Day on Tuesday.
The prospect of a consolidation between the two quasi-public
agencies was first raised in September and received lukewarm receptions from both groups’ boards of
directors.
The bill language characterizes the change in the port
authority’s title and function as a succession.
Under the proposed new management system, the airport
authority’s board would also serve as the new maritime authority’s board of
directors. The airport authority’s executive director would also serve as chief
administrative officer for the new maritime group.
The port authority's current 16-member board, which includes
the mayors of New London, Bridgeport and New Haven – all home to deep-water
ports – would shrink to 12 members.
The CAA, formed in 2011, is responsible for overseeing
operations at Bradley International Airport and the state’s five general
aviation airports: Danielson, Groton-New London, Hartford-Brainard,
Waterbury-Oxford and Windham.
The Connecticut Port Authority was created in 2014 to manage
ports previously under the management of the state Department of
Transportation. The port authority is overseeing a $300 million upgrade aimed
at transforming its State Pier terminal into
an offshore wind component staging and assembly site.
Under Lamont’s proposal, the “assets, revenues and
resources” of the maritime authority – along with any liabilities, financial
losses or expenses — would remain separate from the airport group, though the
two groups would share staff and other administrative resources.
During a port authority board of directors meeting on
Tuesday in a conference room at Fort Trumbull State Park, several members
vehemently spoke out against the proposal.
“Maybe I’m short-sighted, but I don’t see the benefit,”
board Vice-Chairman Grant Westerson said, adding the proposed change ran the
risk of diluting his group’s core mission of marketing and coordinating the
development of the state’s ports and maritime economy.
Board Chairman David Kooris said the port authority has
always been challenged by its small size as the CAA’s approximately 160 direct
employees far outnumber the port authority's handful of paid staff members.
He said the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee will
likely hold a public hearing on the governor’s bill by March 15 with details on
the proposal to be “fleshed out” in the coming weeks.
Kooris said the state legislature's shorted session means
the proposal would need to be acted on by May 8. He also urged fellow board
members to brainstorm ways to “tweak” the current port authority system in case
Lamont’s bill fizzles.
“I’m totally opposed to a merger,” member John Johnson said.
“We’ve done a fabulous job with this leadership and the State Pier. The future
is all in front of us and it’s rosy.”