Seymour officials have held two meetings in the past month in an effort to bring new life to vacant and undeveloped space in town.
- On Friday, May 4, First Selectman Kurt Miller and Tri-Town Property Manager Ted Holly met with an independent grocer interested in coming to the former Adams Supermarket in the Tri-Town Plaza.
- On April 25, Miller met with Beacon Falls First Selectman Gerard Smith and officials from Haynes Construction Co. to talk about 230 acres of undeveloped land behind the Stop & Shop in Seymour.
In both cases, the meetings were very preliminary, and town officials aren’t saying much.
Tri-Town
Miller and Holly declined to name the independent grocer who is eyeing Tri-Town. The business person has three decades of experience in the grocery industry, and lives about 10 miles away from Seymour.
Holly, as the property manager for the plaza, said he has been negotiating with the interested tenant on behalf of property owner Ron Spector. A call seeking comment was left with Spector Monday morning.
“The grocer had asked me how is the town to work with, would they support a project like this,” Holly said Monday. “I introduced him to Kurt (Miller), said the town wants this, the town wants something going on here.”
Miller said the potential tenant mentioned the town’s recent implementation of a tax incentive program for new businesses in Seymour. But that’s not the only reason he is eyeing the site, according to Miller.
“It’s a good spot,” Miller said. “There is a lot of visibility from the road. A lot of cars drive by there. And there is a need for another grocery store in Seymour.”
It’s early in the negotiation process. There’s nothing in writing, and the grocer is still doing research about demographics and feasibility.
But Miller said he was encouraged by the meeting — and has already exchanged follow-up information with the grocer over the weekend.
“Of all the conversations I’ve had, this one seemed the most positive,” Miller said.
The former Adams space takes up about 36,000 square feet on the right side of the vacant portion of the Tri-Town Plaza building.
The other half of the building — where the Ames department store used to operate — is also vacant.
Holly said in the past 90 days he has also received inquiries about that space from fitness clubs and an indoor sports arena. None of those inquiries have reached the level of negotiations the grocery store has.
Haynes Construction Property
Across town, on Franklin Street, Seymour officials are eying another large parcel prime for development.
Miller and Smith met with officials from Haynes Construction Co., as well as Rick Dunne, the executive director of the Valley Council of Governments, to talk about plans for the 230-acre property behind Stop & Shop.
The economy and lack of access have made it hard for Haynes Construction Co. to develop the land, which sits along the Naugatuck River between Route 42 in Beacon Falls and Route 67 in Seymour.
Officials from Haynes Construction has said they want to build a mixed-use retail and housing development on the site — a plan that has been talked about during the past seven years, but never formally proposed.
The meeting on April 25 was a way for town officials to get updated on the plans, and to offer help with any stumbling blocks to development, Miller said.
“(Beacon Falls) First Selectman Smith and I want to be proactive and not sit back and wait for development,” Miller said.
The meetings are just a first step, he said.
“It’s more of a brainstorming at this point, bringing everybody up to speed,” Miller said. “We’re in the very, very early stages of the process,” he said.
There are still no formal plans for development of the site.
One stumbling block is the lack of a road extending into the property.
About seven years ago, it looked as if a road was being considered. However, the planning process is lengthy, and currently at a stand-still.
In 2005, Congress awarded $750,000 for the study and design of a road connecting Route 67 to Route 42.
Before it could use the money for design, the Valley Council of Governments had to complete a study on whether the area met federal highway standards to require a new road.
That study was passed on to the Connecticut Department of Transportation last year, according to Dunne. The council has not heard back from Connecticut DOT, Dunne said.
“The study is still a draft,” Dunne said. “We requested comments from the state. The question is whether it justifies a federal investment for a roadway.”
“We have technically not completed the study,” Dunne said. “I wanted their (state DOT) input. I wanted to know if they recommend if we proceed or not.”
