Contributed Photo
Derby Mayor Joseph DiMartino signs the sale contract.
DERBY – Mayor Joseph DiMartino signed an agreement on Nov. 14 to buy 2 Factory St. for $1.35 million.
The property owner and seller is Andrew M. Jacobs, whose family has owned the property for decades.
Jacobs rents the property to the Rubino Bros. scrap yard.
A closing date to convey the title to the city must take place within the next 30 days, according to the contract. The parties have the option to extend that time, if needed. During that time, the city will be doing its due diligence – that is, inspecting the property’s title to make sure it is clean of any liens or other complications.
The property is contaminated (click here for a previous story) – but the inspection reports need to be updated, and an environmental firm needs to test the soil under the large pile of junk on the property.
Testing and cleanup is the responsibility of the City of Derby – the property is being sold “as is,” according to the contract. See the image below.
It’s common for municipalities to secure grant money to do environmental testing and clean up. Grant money is still taxpayer money, just not exclusively from people living in Derby.
The city had been negotiating a deal for years under the belief that an unsightly scrap yard is an impediment to attracting investors to the Derby redevelopment zone – the land on the south side of Main Street next to the Housatonic River stretching from the Derby-Shelton bridge to the Route 8 south entrance ramp.
The Derby Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen voted unanimously on Nov. 14 to authorize the mayor to sign the sale contract.
DiMartino’s office said the money is coming from two sources: a grant from the state Department of Economic and Community Development, and a federal grant awarded with the help of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
“This is a big moment for the city,” DiMartino said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to moving forward with the downtown redevelopment plan.”
Open Questions
As of Nov. 19, the future of the Rubino Bros. scrap yard remained an unanswered question. A lawyer listed as the company’s agent on business filings declined comment.
The DiMartino administration would not answer questions about the scrap yard’s future, nor state how much rent the city could collect when the sale closes within the next 30 days.
Mayor Rich Dzkiekan’s administration had pushed for a deal that would have seen the city pay to relocate the scrap yard to property behind BJ’s Wholesale off Division Street next to the city’s river walk. Commerce Street, which is off Route 34 near Dunkin’ Donuts, has also been discussed.
“We are actively negotiating with the tenant and expect our negotiation to be productive,” the mayor’s statement read.
Another open question: what is the city going to do with the land? Past options included using it for parking or selling it to a developer.
This Google Map image shows 2 Factory St.
Reaction
Dominick Thomas, the lawyer who represented the property owner, said it was “a long road” to get the deal done but that his client was satisfied.
“It’s a family business that has been there for 60 years, I believe. But he knows this is absolutely necessary for the successful redevelopment of downtown Derby,” Thomas said.
The sale agreement signed Nov. 14 is essentially the same as the contract that the Derby Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen had in their hands in October 2023 when Dziekan was mayor.
However, the Alders would not put forth a motion to vote on that contract.
At that time, the city was not in possession of a $1 million grant from DeLauro, which happened after DiMartino was elected.
Downtown Derby Progress
Derby’s efforts to transform its downtown have been underway for decades.
Over the past 20 years, the city tore down the store fronts and apartment buildings that once dotted the south side of Main Street.
Some were razed because they were unsafe, past mayors said, while others met the wrecking ball to make way for the expansion of Main Street/state Route 34, which is underway and expected to be completed in 2025.
Downtown Derby has a bus depot, a train station and access to Route 8 north and south. Yet the city has not seen the type of explosive redevelopment seen in downtown Shelton in Fairfield County across the Housatonic River.
However, things are picking up.
The state recently finished its $12 million renovation of the Derby-Shelton Bridge. The state and feds are also pouring millions of dollars into a planned overhaul of the Derby train station.
Two residential developments were approved for the redevelopment zone.
Trolley Point, a 105-unit apartment building, is under construction on Main Street next to the entrance to Route 8 south.
An investment group also received approvals from Derby in 2020 to build 200 apartments at 23 Factory St. However, construction on that project never started and the investors are suing each other over the deal.
A virtual court conference in that lawsuit is scheduled for 3 p.m. Dec. 2.
On Minerva Street, just north of the redevelopment zone, 90 apartments were recently built on land that sat as an eyesore for decades.
