The chief executive officer of a drug treatment program said not only is he trying to open at 158 Main St. in Ansonia — his company signed a lease last week.
Meanwhile, the City of Ansonia said Thursday the use being pursued by Hamilton isn’t allowed on Main Street.
The news comes after the Valley Indy published a story Tuesday in which Tonino Mavuli, the owner of the building at 158 Main St., said Friday, May 25, that he hadn’t heard from Hamilton’s Recovery Network of Programs or signed a lease.
Hamilton said Thursday (May 31) that the lease was signed on either May 17 or May 18.
“The lease is signed and ready. Our broker worked with his broker,” Hamilton said.
However, Mavuli again said the clinic is not opening in his building. No one from Recovery Network of Programs has even talked to Mavuli or his real estate agent, Mavuli said.
“I wish them luck. I hope they find a place. But they don’t have anything with us,” Mavuli said.
“This is bizarre,” Hamilton said.
Recovery Network of Programs wants to open a clinic in the bottom floor of the office building. Methadone, a drug meant to wean people off heroin, will be part of the services offered. The clinic would also assist people battling prescription pill addictions.
The need for such as facility in the lower Valley is huge, Hamilton has said. Click for more details.
Hamilton said his company needs to obtain permits from the Ansonia building department to do some interior renovations to the office at 158 Main St.
The clinic could be open within the next three months, Hamilton said.
The drug clinic isn’t being welcomed by neighboring merchants. Several business owners said they’re trying to revitalize Main Street with restaurants and retail and that a drug clinic would make more sense around Griffin Hospital on the border of Ansonia and Derby.
Mavuli and Hamilton apparently had an agreement in 2010, when Recovery Network of Programs first tried to open at 158 Main St.
However, the City of Ansonia tried to block it by pointing to outdated zoning rules that barred “clinics for the insane, alcoholics and drug addicts.”
The U.S. Department of Justice intervened and Ansonia removed the discriminatory language from the zoning regulations.
On Thursday, Mayor James Della Volpe said the city worked diligently to correct objectionable language in their zoning regulations and to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
However, the use being pursued by Hamilton’s Recovery Network of Programs is still not allowed under Ansonia zoning, according to the city.
Della Volpe, reading from a statement, said medical and dental offices are no longer permitted uses on Ansonia’s Main Street. However, the use is permitted in Ansonia’s light-industrial zone, the mayor said.
