FILE PHOTO
This photo of 195 Main St. from 2019 shows cosmetic damage to the front of the building, and major damage up top on the right, where a chimney had partially collapsed.
DERBY — The long-awaited demolition of a dilapidated Main Street building stopped shortly after it started, but there might be a private deal in the works to redevelop the corner of Minerva and Main street.
Back in April, a contracting company working for Derby Shores, LLC took out permits to take down the LLC’s four-story building at 195 Main St.
The blue scaffolding erected in 2019 to protect the public from falling debris was removed in May. Concrete barriers blocking the sidewalk were installed to keep the pedestrians away from the demolition zone. A crew showed up and started removing the roof atop the former Milardo’s store.
Then, suddenly, the demo crew packed up, left, and hasn’t been back in weeks.
The Valley Indy left a message seeking info two weeks ago with Derby Shores, LLC but hasn’t heard back.
Resident Tom Lionetti asked about 195 Main St. at a meeting of the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen on June 10.
Andrew Baklik, Mayor Rich Dziekan’s chief of staff, said Derby officials were told the work stopped because of an issue with a wall between 195 Main St. and its neighbor at 181 Main St., Fratelli’s, the Italian restaurant. But Baklik also alluded to private talks taking place.
“There was an issue with the common wall between the former Milardo’s building and the Fratelli’s building, so the two owners of the two properties are kind of working that out,” Baklik told the board. “Whether that is going to result in the fixing of that wall, and just demolition of 195 as we saw it, or a much larger demolition remains to be seen.”
The owner of Fratelli’s declined comment (update: four days after this article was published the restaurant announced on Facebook they were closing because of “construction issues next door.”)
Another neighboring property, the former Bella’s Pizza at 9 Minerva St., could be involved in the discussion, too. The City of Derby acquired that property through a foreclosure, then put it out to bid to find a new owner and get it back on the tax rolls.
Derby Shores LLC, 195 Main St.‘s owner, bid on the property, saying they intended to demolish 9 Minerva along with neighboring 195 Main St. However, the Aldermen/Alderwomen sold the property to a higher bidder, NS Luxury Apartments, LLC, through the LLC’s representative, Noah Stengel, for $80,000.
Derby Shores LLC is represented by Michael Hillis, an attorney with Dombroski HIllis LLC in New Haven.
A copy of the deed on file in City Hall selling 9 Minerva St. from the city to NX Luxury Apartments lists attorney Stanley Dombroski — also of Dombroski Hillis LLC — as the contact to whom to send the deed.
Background
The old building at 195 Main St. was badly damaged by a winter storm in 2013. The owners were ensnared in a dispute with an insurance company over repair costs. The building hasn’t been occupied since 2015. Its chimney started to collapse in March 2019. Parts of the facade were falling off the building, under which sits a sidewalk bus stop, and one of its chimneys collapsed.
Bricks also fell off the building and onto the sidewalk below.
The limited liability company that owns 195 Main St. include former Seymour Police Chief Michael Metzler and Phillip Hadden, who is a police officer, according to the company’s lawyer, as principals. The building has become a money pit for them.
The Derby building inspector, who has since left the job, declared the building unsafe in March 2019. In an unusual move, the building inspector declined to share details about the building’s condition with the press because he worried a news story would make the owner look bad.
The Valley Indy filed a Freedom of Information complaint against the City of Derby, which the city settled in June 2019 by promising to hold an open government class for all city employees — and then never followed through on its promise.
The city isn’t planning to pressure Derby Shores LLC to proceed with demolition, saying the demolition permits are valid for one year. The Dziekan administration is hoping the private parties can strike a deal to make something happen.
“We certainly hope it doesn’t take a year, and it’s my understanding that the town clerk has had some contact with the property owner as well and there is a potential deal that can be struck there where we can see that all come down,” Baklik told the Aldermen and Alderwomen June 10, referring to the three properties at 9 Minerva, 195 Main, and 181 Main.
