DERBY – The developer behind the 105-unit Trolley Pointe apartment complex on Main Street said city officials are refusing to grant him a tax break approved by city lawmakers three years ago.

Joseph Salemme, the Shelton-based developer, said the decision could cost him around $800,000 over the next seven years.

“We’re going to sue the city. I talked to my attorneys today,” Salemme said in an interview July 6.

However, city officials in Mayor Joseph DiMartino’s administration said the city doesn’t have an agreement with Salemme.

“At this time, there does not appear to be an executed agreement for a tax abatement with the city. With no such agreement, in our view there is no abatement,” wrote Linda Fusco, DiMartino’s chief of staff, in an email.

Background

In February 2022, the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission approved plans under former Mayor Richard Dziekan’s administration for the $16 million redevelopment of 90 Main St., the site of the former Lifetouch property.

In February 2023, Salemme asked the Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen to approve his application for entry into the city’s “tax and business incentive program,” a program created in 2018 to lure investment into Derby, especially the long-stagnant downtown redevelopment zone between the south side of Main Street and the Housatonic River. 

The board, which had a Democratic majority at the time (including an unaffiliated member who ran with the Dems), voted 5 – 1 to approve the application.

Salemme appeared to follow all the steps outlined in the application process.

The steps are outlined in the image below:

When property owners make improvements to properties, the value of those properties increase through property assessments. The goal of Derby’s program was to phase in the full value of the improvements over time. 

It was envisioned as a way to give redevelopment projects such as Trolley Pointe a chance to get off the ground.

No Abatement For You

Salemme said he has been trying to sell the property. His attorney, Benjamin Proto, sent a letter on Salemme’s behalf in April asking elected officials to consider re-assigning the tax break to whoever ends up buying the property. 

Salemme asked that the city put the matter on an agenda for the Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen to review. City officials wouldn’t do it, he said.

Then, when Salemme went to get his tax bill after Proto’s letter, he said he found out his 2023 tax abatement had been revoked.

“Revoking an approved tax abatement is probably one of the dumbest things you could possibly do when you’re looking for investors to invest in a dilapidated city,” Salemme said.

He said DiMartino’s administration is at fault.

“We’re the only people that were willing to invest this money and get things started, but this administration just can’t be more counterproductive. If they could figure out a way to screw things up, they will,” Salemme said.

Fusco said the city has no documents supporting a tax abatement. She said the city is following the advice of its legal counsel.

“We are continuing to review the matter and reserve the right to change our position if additional information or facts are discovered,” Fusco said.

More On The Tax Break Program And Trolley Pointe

The ordinance for the tax incentive program states that “all final approvals shall be granted by the Board of Aldermen / Alderwomen, which final approval shall not be subject to appeal.”

Former Derby Economic Development director Roger Salway spoke in support of Salemme’s application in 2023. Salway and Dziekan both signed Salemme’s application.

The project also received support from the state, in the form of a $2.6 million loan from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. 

The apartments, although originally described at public meetings as market-rate, contained 21 units designated affordable by the state when it opened – meaning they’re set aside for households earning between 60 and 80 percent of the local median income.