The Ansonia Development Corporation is scheduled to meet Wednesday to once again discuss a stagnant plan to redevelop two buildings downtown.
Duke Realty of Connecticut, a limited liability company from New Jersey, contracted with Ansonia in 2008 to purchase the buildings at 153 Main St. and 497 E. Main St for $1.5 million.
The Ansonia Development Corporation, a non-profit, public-private partnership, was formed to manage the sale of the property.
Duke was supposed to convert the old building into condos, with the Ansonia Senior Center remaining a tenant on the ground floor of 153 Main St.
The city used federal Brownfield money to clean up environmental contamination at the properties, which was part of the deal. Duke Realty also secured a zone change for their concept.
However, four years after the contract was signed, Duke still hasn’t submitted formal plans to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
They were supposed to do so last month, according to Kevin Blake, Ansonia’s corporation counsel.
“They were supposed to do something by September. They didn’t do that,” Blake said Wednesday. “I have to go to the Ansonia Development Corporation and tell them what their options are. That is something I will be addressing with them next week.”
Ansonia officials clearly want out of the Duke deal.
The New Haven Register reported in April that the Ansonia Development Corporation gave Blake “marching orders” in April to talk to Duke’s lawyer about ending the contract.
Duke’s lawyer is John Sponheimer of Ansonia. He didn’t return a call for comment last week.
Earlier this year city officials toured the Main Street building with the president of Housatonic Community College as a possible annex for that institution.
Vinnie Scarlata, the chairman of the city’s Economic Development Commission, said he’s been told the Duke deal is dead.
“Duke is gone. They are done,” Scarlata said last Tuesday.
Ansonia toured the property with the president of Housatonic Community College earlier this year to see if the college was interested in opening a satellite campus in Ansonia.
Scarlata said he wants to approach the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities Board of Regents to see if they’re interested in the buildings.
In addition, at least one local developer, Tonino Mavuli, is interested in the property, Scarlata said.
Meanwhile, Blake said the city’s contract with Duke does not have an official expiration date. The contract had a timeline that was extended over the years, primarily as Ansonia worked to clean up contamination at the site.
Since a formal application for development wasn’t submitted last month, terminating the contract is an option, Blake said.
“But, again, that is not my decision to make. That is up to the Ansonia Development Corporation,” he said.
Raymond L. McGee, of Ansonia Brass and Copper, is listed on a state database as the president of the Ansonia Development Corporation. Mayor James Della Volpe is listed is the vice president.
Della Volpe didn’t respond to requests for comment last week.
The building at 153 Main St. is 45,000 square feet. It was used in the 1900s by the Osborne and Cheeseman Co., according to information from the Valley Council of Governments. Palmer Bros. Trucking moved in in 1955 and remained there with other businesses until about 1985.
Other tenants at 153 Main St. over the years included Dr. Ed Blumenthal and other physicians, Sharkey Screw Machine Products, and “Wild Bill’s” factory outlet.
The building next door at 497 E. Main St. is 50,000 square feet with five floors. Its history dates back to 1884, and it was used for years as storage for the Osborne and Cheeseman Co. The New England Cap Co. occupied the building in the 1990s.
