
Google Photo
The unnamed road is between Route 8 and the Naugatuck River. It ends in a loop visible at the bottom of the photo.
DERBY — The city is considering selling vacant land in the area of BJ’s Wholesale off Division Street to the owner of a local crane company.
George Schrade is offering $325,000 for the land, which is referred to locally as ​“Derby Commerce Park.”
Schrade owns A‑Quick Pick Crane and Rigging, which has offices and storage space for its heavy machinery in Derby on Roosevelt Drive, Park Avenue, and Water Street.
Schrade was the only person to respond to a request for proposals the city issued May 3, according to Carmen DiCenso, Derby’s economic development liaison.
Schrade’s offer is the city’s asking price. He wants to use the land to store cranes and crane-related equipment, along with a warehouse, according to a document he submitted to city government.
The city wants to sell the land so that it can generate tax revenue.
As it stands, A‑Quick Pick and its related companies are paying at least $61,000 in taxes to the city, according to publicly-accessible information that connects to A‑Quick Pick’s addresses in Derby.
Derby City Treasurer Keith McLiverty recently noted the city needs more non-residential development, because the government is relying more and more on homeowners to foot the tax burden.
The land the city wants to sell is zoned for industrial use, and is not near any houses.
If the city and Schrade work out a deal, any development proposed would have to be reviewed by the city’s planning and zoning commission, DiCenso said.
Derby received more than $1 million in state and federal grants 10 years ago to build the road that access the land. The road stretches from BJ’s Wholesale toward the Derby train station parallel to the Derby Greenway.
In 2009, city officials predicted $22 million in private investment and a development that would generate about 150 jobs. That never happened.
A resident at a December 2013 Aldermen meeting called it the ​“road to nowhere.” The property and city were also named in a complicated, multi-party civil lawsuit involving privately-held land next to the city-owned parcel.
The property is complicated, DiCenso told The Valley Indy Wednesday. Its borders are a bit murky.
The state Department of Transportation owns land there, the Derby walking trail is there, and there’s train tracks.
As it stands, an engineering firm is working to clearly and definitively identify the property’s borders. The city has met with Dominick Thomas, Schrade’s lawyer, to review details.
The document Schrade submitted May 20 offers a 120-day timeline to reach a deal. The deal is contingent upon Schrade receiving approvals from city commissions such as the P & Z, inland wetland, and the WPCA.
“There is a lot of due diligence underway on our part,” DiCenso said. ​“Our engineers are finding out exactly what the property’s boundaries are. Obviously, we can’t sell him the railroad, and the walkway, even though it’s on that property. We’re working with our engineers and Mr. Schrade’s attorney.”
In addition, the city had to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to review the shoreline of the Naugatuck River, which is next to the property. The city maintains the drainage system and sluice gates there, and had to make repairs to ensure the property could be developed.
The Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen, the city’s legislative branch, also have to weigh-in on the sale before it is final.
In related news, the city is still in the process of selling the former VARCA building and property on Coon Hollow Road.
The Aldermen/Alderwomen approved selling it in April to Soccer and Rugby Imports LLC of Southport for approximately $450,000.
The sale contract is being reviewed by lawyers, DiCenso said.
“We’re reviewing a contract now. They wanted a few things, we wanted a few things. Hopefully that will close in November,” he said.