Cheshire Crossing condo residents want future home of Whole Foods, TJ Maxx renamed
Christian Metzger
CHESHIRE — What's in a name? A lot of potential headaches,
according to residents of Cheshire Crossing condominiums.Skip Ad
Driving directions, package deliveries and emergency calls
could get confusing if a
shopping center under construction in the town's north end — future
home of Whole Foods, TJ Maxx and other destinations — uses the same
Cheshire Crossing moniker.
That warning came in a cease-and-desist letter this week
from the homeowners' association that represents Cheshire Crossing
condominiums, a 92-unit, age-restricted development built in 2005 along the
Cheshire, Wallingford town line.
Police, fire and other emergency services "have been
aware of the name and location of our community since that time," the
letter states, putting Florida-based Regency Centers on notice as it builds the
retail component of the larger mixed-use Stone Bridge Crossing, which will
include townhouses,
apartments, a
hotel and a gas station convenience store.
"By using Cheshire Crossing you have introduced the
possibility of confusion to such public services during
emergencies," the letter states. "In addition, other private
services such as delivery services may be misdirected if the Cheshire Crossing
name is used in reference to another location within Cheshire or Wallingford.”
The letter is signed jointly by co-presidents of the
homeowners' association, David Fowler and John Penwell. They could not be
reached for comment Thursday.
The Regency Centers development is located at the
intersection of Route 10 and Interstate 691, about seven miles north of
Cheshire Crossing condos. It is planned as an expansive 152,000-square-foot
complex with smaller retail offerings like Chipotle, BIRDCODE Hot
Chicken, and Choice Pet in addition to Whole Foods and TJ Maxx.
The letter concludes with the association telling Regency to
refrain from using the Cheshire Crossing name for any portion of the Stone
Bridge Crossing development. Representatives of Regency Centers could not be
reached for comment.
The letter was also sent to both Cheshire
and Wallingford emergency services, the Wallingford Economic
Development Department and the local media.
The 27-space retail center is expected to be completed
sometime in late 2025, just ahead of the holiday season, Regency Centers has
said previously.
Greenwich Avenue could get more night work this summer, this time from Eversource
GREENWICH — Eversource said it is hoping to improve the
capacity at three of its junctures under Greenwich Avenue this summer, which
will mean some night time road closures.
Company representatives told the Board of Selectmen that
they’d like permission for three intermittent nighttime lane closures between
May and August to complete the work. A specific timeline for the closures has
not been established.
“We would mobilize to one place, to one location, install
one structure, one vault,” Andrew Vento of Penna Construction said on April 11.
“There may be a gap in between when we go to the next location. … For the three
locations that we've submitted for, it would be a week or two per each
location.”
Vento said the earliest they would start would be late May
or early June and crews may be able to finish in August, though he reiterated
that they would not require continuous nightly closures during this period.
Eversource and Penna specifically plan to work on
underground vaults at 86 Greenwich Ave. and at Greenwich Avenue's intersections
with Lewis Street and Arch Street, according to the
proposal.
The vaults are large concrete cubes nestled underground to
house various utility connections. Eversource said the work is needed to expand
the capacity of the facilities and allow them to handle greater loads in the
future.
The project coincides with other work that Aquarion Water
Company has been doing to replace
water mains under Greenwich Avenue, but the Eversource work is
separate.
Aquarion has had to use a nearby storage yard for its
equipment, which has bothered some neighbors, but Vento said Penna Construction
and Eversource believe they will be able to bring all the equipment they need
to the site and will not need to set up any storage yards.
The selectmen heard the request on April 11 but did not take
any action. The board proposed that Eversource come back to them and check in
every month during the project so there are opportunities to discuss any issues
or resident complaints.
The board will take the permit requests up again at its next
meeting on April 25, once the public has had a chance to comment on the planned
work.
A Massachusetts food manufacturer is planning to expand to
South Windsor, with a proposed $71 million upgrade to the sprawling Carla’s
Pasta facility, which is slated to close “imminently,” a town official said.
Home Market Foods, based in Norwood, Massachusetts, produces
frozen meatballs and other foods, including hot dogs sold at convenience stores
and movie theaters.
The company is planning a 28,000-square-foot addition to
Carla's Pasta's 148,083-square-foot food production plant at 50 Talbot Lane.
The parent company of Carla’s Pasta, which was acquired
through a bankruptcy auction in 2021, put the company’s sprawling South
Windsor-based food production plant up for sale at the end of last year.
The Town Council on Monday approved a seven-year tax
abatement on the value of the new portion of the building, contingent upon Home
Market Foods’ completion of the project, the creation of 210 jobs and payment
of all other real estate taxes on the property.
Negotiations between town officials and the company, under
the codename “Project Fin,” occurred during an executive session of the
Economic Development Commission on March 27.
Although the name of the company became public during
Monday’s Town Council meeting, Councilor Michael Buganski, the council’s
liaison to the Economic Development Commission, said it was important for the
negotiations to occur in private.
“Many times, questions regarding sensitive financial
decisions need to be held in a small group outside of the public realm until a
general consensus is met,” Buganski said. “There could be a million reasons why
that is. Typically the business asking for a concession is not interested in
sharing their financial position with the public until a commitment is made. In
this case, I believe the business in question also wants to maintain a certain
level of anonymity in order to protect their market position.”
Under the deal, Home Market Foods would purchase the
property from its current owner, Wisconsin-based Tribe 9 Foods, which is the
parent company of Carla's Pasta.
Carla's Pasta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in
February 2021, citing tens of millions of dollars in debt and the adverse
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its sales.
Buganski said the new company is expected to offer jobs to
all current employees, in addition to creating new positions.
“These are well-paying jobs that are good for the community,
especially since some of the affected folks likely live here,” he said.
The abatement would total approximately $70,000 a year for
the first three years, and then would decrease, Buganski said.
A tax abatement on the existing building is set to expire in
2025.
The property is appraised at $15.96 million
Tribe 9 Foods bought Carla’s Pasta through a bankruptcy
auction in 2021 for $26.3 million.
Officials from Home Market Foods said they expect the
project to be finished by the end of 2027.
Megan Overdorff, director of talent acquisition for Home
Market Foods, said the family-owned company will become involved in the
community. She said the 60-year-old business takes care of its employees,
offering perks including an employer-matching savings plan and no-interest
loans to employees facing financial challenges.