ANSONIA – Members of the planning and zoning commission have 90 days to decide whether the former police station at 2 Elm St. should be converted into 12 apartments.
Members of the commission voted June 29 to close a public hearing on the proposal.
Ansonia-based developer Fredi Lalaj purchased the property from the city in 2023 for $320,000. Lalaj said at the time that he wanted to convert it into a data center.
However, the tenant that Lalaj planned to rent the property to later encountered financial issues, according to city officials.
Members of the Aldermen discussed the possibility of buying the property back in 2025 but ultimately took no action.
Commissioners previously rejected plans that would have brought 15 and then 14 apartments to the property.
The newest plans include 19 parking spaces and a mixture of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Lalaj described the apartments as age restricted. There is also space in the basement for a server room rented by GoNetspeed, an internet service provider.
A representative for Lalaj said the server room would not create noise down the street or require regular staffing. He said it’s not a full-fledged data center, as Lalaj had previously proposed for the property.
“It’s not like there’s an office down there,” said Michael Mastrogiacomo, the consulting engineer responsible for the site plan. “It’s just the equipment.”
The latest presented plans would place parking around the building, with a one-way thruway curving around the complex. The plans also propose adding a stop sign at the parking lot’s exit, which would feed into Elm Street near the intersection with Platt Street.
Lalaj owns two other homes in Ansonia, both on Elm Street. He also owns the masonry business Fredi’s Construction LLC, according to business records.