Changes could be in store soon at Seymour’s Tri-Town Plaza.
Most of the sprawling Derby Avenue retail complex has sat vacant for years after the departure of an Adams Supermarket and an Ames department store.
Now a tractor store is in talks to occupy a portion of the unused space formerly taken up by Ames.
But nobody in a position to know about such negotiations would talk about the deal Monday.
Ted Holly, the property manager for the site, declined to comment when reached by phone.
The building’s owner, Ron Spector, said via e‑mail that there are no new tenants, despite renewed efforts by First Selectman Kurt Miller.
“The First Selectman and I have been working very closely on securing tenants for Tri-Town Plaza, however there is nothing to report at this time,” Spector said.
Miller said Monday that he had a meeting last week with reference to the property, but wouldn’t say much more than that.
“I just met with some people to look at the property a little bit,” Miller said. “They wanted to see if something was possible to be done.”
Miller would not go into details about what those possibilities were.
“It was nothing official, it was just more of a ‘What do you think?’ type thing,” Miller said. “People seemed to agree it was something at least worth looking at.”
Asked whether he thinks an application for the property would come before the town’s land use boards anytime soon, Miller said: “I would expect something by the end of the year.”
Spector said he is optimistic about a deal but isn’t taking it for granted.
“I am hopeful about our prospects, however there are a lot of pieces to put in place and I find it best never to comment until a deal is done,” he said via e‑mail. “What I can say is that I am extremely appreciative of the support I have received from the town and I am certain that the First Selectman’s passion and commitment to creating the best possible conditions for new business will ultimately be productive.”
Speculation surrounding the property is nothing new. The state of the highly visible — and mostly vacant — plaza is often a topic of interest among local officials and politicians.
In May, an independent grocer was reportedly eyeing the space once used by Adams, and several other tenants were interested in the Ames space, too.
Click here to read more from a previous story.
The Valley Indy was tipped off to the tractor store possibility through readers on Facebook.
