The Derby mayor’s office closed a land purchase this week that was part of an agreement to settle a lawsuit in the city’s redevelopment zone.
The move settles a lawsuit filed brought against Derby by a property owner who said 15 years of broken promises and stagnation in the redevelopment zone devalued his land.
The Derby downtown redevelopment zone stretches along the Housatonic River from the Derby-Shelton bridge to the former Lifetouch property on Main Street near the Route 8 south on ramp.
The city is purchasing the land from Derby Real Estate, LLC.
Derby Real Estate, LLC and two other limited liability companies — Country Fare LLC and Derby Garden Center LLC — control property on First Street, 4 Caroline St. and 8 Caroline St. The holdings include Derby Feed and its large, rusted silo clearly visible from Derby City Hall.
Judge John Moran officially dismissed Derby Real Estate’s lawsuit July 8, court records show.
In March, the Aldermen voted to pay $600,000 for the property to end the lawsuit, which had been filed in 2009.
Click here for a story from March.
The purchase price included $96,000 in back taxes and about $51,600 for environmental testing on the property. The city ended up cutting a purchase check Wednesday for $452,354.95, according to Mayor Anita Dugatto’s office.
The money for the purchase was taken from more than $1 million collected through the city’s 2014 tax sale.
“This is another positive step forward toward achieving our long term goals of a more vibrant Derby. I am pleased that we were able to settle this lawsuit in a fair and equitable manner,” Dugatto said in a press release Wednesday.
The prepared statement does not comment on future plans for the property, though it says the city plans to demolish the buildings next year.
The mayor’s prepared statement takes a few swipes at former Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s administration, saying the landowner was “frustrated by the lack of response” by the former mayor’s administration.
Dugatto, a Democrat, unseated Staffieri, a Republican, in 2013.
Election Day is Tuesday and Dugatto is being challenged by Republican Rich Dziekan.
The Republicans have been critical on Dugatto’s administration, saying the mayor has not worked hard enough to attract new investment to Derby.
The lawsuit was brought up during a podcast Q&A Dugatto and Dziekan did with the Valley Indy earlier this month.
A copy of the mayor’s press release is below:
A copy of the original lawsuit is below:
