Charles Seccombe, owner of Seccombe’s Men’s Shop on Main Street, recalled the years when lunchtime at Farrel’s meant streets crowded with employees, looking to eat or shop. But in the past 50 years, the bustle slowed down with the decline in factory business.
Now, Seccombe said only a handful of his customers are Farrel employees.
Farrel Corporation’s plans to leave downtown, and possibly the city, have been met with resigned disappointment by business owners and residents here.
The company has been a shell of its grandiose self for years, and the impact of its downtown departure is more symbolic than practical, residents said.
“I hate to see Farrel go,” Seccombe said. “It’s been here for so many years… They are an institution here in Ansonia.”
City leaders have known for several months Farrel was looking to leave its downtown site. Mayor James Della Volpe said Farrel representatives have been looking at a spot at Fountain Lake, the corporate park Shelton developer Bob Scinto is working on in the northern part of Ansonia.
But Tuesday Scinto submitted plans with the Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission for a 94,000 square foot building on Waterview Drive. He said the plans were for Farrel Corporation to relocate.
“We tried very very hard to get them to stay in Ansonia on that piece of property I’m developing,” Scinto said. “But they want to be up and running in nine months,” and that property won’t be ready by then, he said.
Scinto said Farrel is looking for a new building tailored to their needs. The company was purchased by the H.F. Machinery Group, a division of L. Possehl & Co. of Lubeck, Germany earlier this year. Farrel representatives did not return calls for comment Thursday.
The proposed Shelton building would have 60,000 square feet of manufacturing space and about 34,000 of office space on about nice acres. Scinto said he would lease the building to Farrel, and expects the building costs to be $10 million.
End of an Era
Some say Farrel leaving Ansonia is ripping a piece of history out of the Valley. The company was founded in the 1840s by Almon Farrel. As it transformed through the 19th century, Farrel Corporation produced brass, iron castings, power drives and gears for water power installations, according to a bicentennial history of Ansonia written in 1976.
During the Civil War, Farrel produced cannon barrels and bayonet rolling machines, according to a history on the company’s Web site. During the 20th century, Farrel moved into production for the rubber and plastics industries.
Older residents, like Seccombe, remember how the factories contributed to the downtown during the 1930s and 1940s.
“Farrel leaving the Valley – to me Shelton is not part of the Valley – we’re losing a big piece of our history,” said Ansonia resident Carol Grosskopf.
Carole La Rose, who works at Salvage Alley on Main Street, said customers tell her about how the building used to house a barber shop, a harness maker and a diner.
“I hear stories about how the workers used to come in here and eat,” La Rose said. “Now, I have probably three guys from Farrels who stop over here on their lunch break to shop.”
Board of Alderman President Steve Blume said the impact of Farrel leaving has already been felt and overcome.
“They scaled back a long time ago, and Ansonia came alive again,” Blume said. “We’ll be alright. It’s just hard to lose a tax payer. But I think we’re holding our own.”
Blume said if Farrel decides to relocate in Shelton, he has confidence that Scinto will find more tenants for the Fountain Lake project.
“Believe me, when he finishes the Ansonia project, it will be completely filled,” Blume said.
Empty Shells
That may be the case, but whenever a major manufacturer relocates or closes, it leaves the challenge of what to do with the buildings.
Ansonia found new use of the former Latex Foam Products Co. factory land after the building was destroyed by a fire in May 2001. Now Target operates at the site.
But many other sites, including some Farrel properties no longer being used, sit vacant for years.
Jerry Vartelas, who grew up in Ansonia and serves on the Derby Historical Society, said he’d like to see condominiums brought into downtown Ansonia.
“Of course it’s a sad thing,” Vartelas said. “The key is what to do with it now.”
The city has been considering that question. In 2006 the planning and zoning commission issued a city center plan to outline how it would like to see the downtown area develop.
Abandoned factories, the plan says, “offer rare and unique development opportunities” for mixed-use water-front developments.
Della Volpe said until Farrel makes an official decision, all discussion on future plans is speculative. But, he said, “We’re looking at it as a mixed-use, hopefully we’ll get some housing, retail and commercial uses there.”
