Restoring. Rehabilitating. And “adaptively” re-using.
Those are words architect Joseph Migani used to describe his vision for a vacant factory on Roosevelt Drive.
Migani appeared in front of the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission Feb. 21 for an “informal discussion” of his plans for 253 Roosevelt Drive, a 1.8‑acre parcel owned by the estate of Patrick A. Mainolfi.
Neither Migani nor his lawyer, Dominick Thomas, wanted to go into details about the plans with the Valley Indy after the meeting because Migani does not yet own the property. Click here for a previous story.
An application has not been filed in Derby City Hall. Migani has floated a similar idea in Seymour.
The audio recording from the Feb. 21 P&Z meeting (released last week) gives a very good indication of what may happen at the Derby site.
The Pre-Proposal Proposal
“What we’re going to propose is residential, possibly with the ability to do retail,” Thomas told members of the P&Z last week.
O’Riordan-Migani Architects, LLC of Seymour, hopes to build 35 one-bedroom apartments. The apartments would be restricted to people 55 years of age and older.
The apartments would be classified as affordable, Migani told P&Z members.
Rent at the apartment could range from $650 to $900 per month instead of the market rate of $1,800 to $2,400 a month, Migani said.
In addition, the senior complex would include a community meeting room, a laundry room, and other amenities for the seniors living there.
The estimated project cost: $8 million to $9 million.
Migani and Thomas said as Derby’s population ages — and as baby boomers near retirement age — affordable housing for seniors is a crucial need locally.
“They don’t want to be priced out of their communities because they can’t afford their homes,” Migani said.
The apartments, however, are not envisioned as a nursing home.
The tenants would be active, using a shuttle bus or the existing sidewalk to get to nearby downtown Derby.
Migani also hopes to build three retail stores at the property. There are no specifics on what those stores might be, but Migani mentioned a convenience store, an ice cream shop or a deli as possibilities.
The building and property, which stretches from Galliard Drive to B Street along Roosevelt Drive (Route 34), is in bad shape. Parts of the property are overgrown and the old brick factory has numerous broken windows.
But Migani said he wants to preserve the building, which is more than 100 years old.
“This is a beautiful mill structure with a significant history,” he said.
Migani has a letter of intent to purchase the Roosevelt Drive property — but the purchase is connected to whether Derby officials approve the project.
Migani’s firm has converted properties on Bank Street in downtown Seymour into senior apartments and retail.
The firm is also involved in the $18 million redevelopment of properties on Wilmot Road in New Haven that will become a mix of age-restricted housing and retail.
Zoning?
Past redevelopment ideas at 253 Roosevelt Drive — such as a hotel — met with opposition from residential neighbors along Park Avenue, which runs behind the property.
In addition, past applications have been opposed by neighboring industrial businesses, who had wanted to see industrial zones remain reserved for industrial uses.
The precise zoning of the property wasn’t perfectly clear during Migani’s presentation.
Land records list the property as industrial, which wouldn’t allow apartments.
Derby officials are researching the property’s history to find out specifically what’s allowed there.
Migani, if and when he decides to move forward, may have to request a zone change of some kind from the city.
That being said, the members of the P&Z in attendance Feb. 21 liked Migani’s ideas.
“I like it. It doesn’t put much strain on the school system,” said P&Z member Tony Szewczyk.
No Prior Notice?
Migani has not filed a formal application in Derby City Hall, but he has already had talks with Mayor Anthony Staffieri, Derby Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley and Theodore J. Estwan, Jr., chairman of the Derby P&Z.
The informal discussion was not listed on the agenda of the Feb. 21 Derby Planning and Zoning Commission.
Commissioners voted to add the discussion to the agenda at the start of the Feb. 21 meeting, based on a Feb. 11 request from Migani and Thomas.
The discussion was legal and proper, according to the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
At the meeting, Migani and Thomas said they needed to get a barometer of the commission because Migani will be applying for federal and state grants if he moves forward with his proposal. Those grants take a long time to secure.
Migani said it will take up to 18 months to secure financing for the project — and another two years to build it.
“It only happens at your pleasure,” he told the Derby commissioners.
