DERBY — Members of the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday approved plans for 105 market-rate apartments at 90 Main St., the site of the former Lifetouch property.
“Put the shovel in the ground,” said P&Z member Steven Jalowiec.
Shelton-based developer Joseph Salemme hopes to start construction on “Trolley Point” in the spring. Once the shovel hits the ground, it will be the first new project in Derby’s downtown redevelopment zone in decades.
The approvals arrive as a contractor from the state Department of Transportation is scheduled to begin the long-awaited Route 34/Main Street widening project in the spring.
Meanwhile, a multi-million renovation of the Derby-Shelton bridge is underway, and the state and federal governments have committed to spending $24 million to renovate the Derby train station.
In addition, the state is spending millions to improve train service, an important factor in the potential economic growth of Derby, an economically distressed municipality.
“I believe that the City of Derby has reached the end of a 20 year drought,” Alderman Charles Sampson said in a message to The Valley Indy. “With the Trolley Point development, the numerous state redevelopment projects being undertaken, and interest from other developers, nothing can stop the city from returning our downtown into the friendly and enjoyable mecca it once was.“
The Derby Planning and Zoning Commission approved two items during a meeting Tuesday.
First, they approved a zone map change that allowed Trolley Point to be reviewed as a “planned development district.” The move gave the ability to waive certain zoning requirements, such as the number of parking spaces to be provided.
Second, they approved the final site plan for the project.
The city’s zoning code calls for 117 parking spaces for the project. The project’s plans provide 94 spaces.
However, the city’s Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen on Feb. 10 voted to allow the developer to lease 23 city-owned parking spaces next to the property.
The developer may not need the spaces (he is trying to buy land nearby from the state), and the P&Z could have approved the application without the 23 city-owned spaces since it was reviewed as a “PDD.” But the resolution from the Alders approving the use of the parking spaces was included in the project’s approval.
Derby P&Z Commission member Ray Sadlick thanked the Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen for their consideration.
“This was going back and forth, but I think we’ll all be proud of what’s going to be done down there,” Sadlick said.
Trolley Pointe was previously approved for 70 apartments in January 2021, but the developer returned with a larger project.
“In conversations with Mr. Salemme, he has indicated that this expanded Trolley Pointe development, which was just approved, is likely to be the first shovel in the ground marking the kickoff of the rebirth of our downtown taking place shortly after the groundbreaking for the Route 34 widening project,” according to a statement from Mayor Rich Dziekan’s office.
Alderwoman Sarah Widomski, president of the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen, said she was happy that the parking agreement from the Alders was included in the P&Z approvals. Widomski attended Tuesday’s virtual meeting, as did Sampson.
“Despite a lack of communication from the Mayor’s Office, the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen and the Planning and Zoning Commission put the best interests of the City ahead of politics by working together for progress. I look forward to the next steps and wish the Salemme family well on this new endeavor,” Widomski said in an email.
Dziekan is a Republican and Widomski is a Democrat.
The mayor’s office responded to Widomski’s statement regarding a lack of communication by saying Widomski and the Democrats have been blocking the mayor from getting items onto the Alders’ agenda, a matter raised during a meeting Feb. 10. Click here for a story.
Widomski and the Democratic Alders “need to become a positive factor in support of the rebirth of our city, and look to work together with the administration to make that happen,” Dziekan’s chief of staff, Walt Mayhew, said.
