A Google Map showing 2 Elm St. in Ansonia.
ANSONIA – The former police station at 2 Elm St. could be redeveloped into a data center following its sale to a private company.
The Board of Aldermen voted unanimously on Oct. 10 to sell the property to Fredi Home Improvement LLC, an Ansonia-based masonry company owned by Fredi Lalaj.
Lalaj told The Valley Indy he plans to redevelop the basement and first floor of the building into a data center, and he hopes to convert the second floor into about six apartments.
A data center will provide host servers for companies and individuals who rent them out, and it will also create around ten jobs in the center itself. Lalaj’s plans to build apartments in the building were not mentioned in his bid proposal or in last Tuesday’s public hearing; Lalaj and the City will need to agree on a site plan before any redevelopment may begin. Lalaj hopes to submit plans and begin redevelopment next month.
“A data center is a good re-use [of the property],” said Sheila O’Malley, the Ansonia Economic Development Director. “It’s going to employ people. Anything that can create some jobs for the area is a really good thing for us.”
Lalaj’s proposal to redevelop the space into a data center cited his company’s previous experience building a data center in Stamford. He also owns several residential properties in Ansonia, including two houses on Elm Street.
“I think people are going to be really happy I got that property. I think that neighborhood looks beautiful,” Lalaj said.
According to the Derby Historical Society, the property at 2 Elm Street was originally the site of the Larkin School, named after Annie Larkin, who was principal for thirty-five years before her passing in 1933..
In 1980, the police department moved into the building. They moved to a new location on Main Street in 2021, after years of dealing with deteriorating and cramped conditions. The building has sat empty since then, and the city used the time to court buyers.
When the bidding process began in May, the interest petered out: only two offers actually came in, O’Malley said. The Connecticut Post reported last year that the Ansonia Housing Authority had been in talks to lease the building for office space, but no deal emerged; the city wanted to sell, not lease, said O’Malley and Jared Heon, of the Ansonia Housing Authority.
When Lalaj offered to purchase the building for $320,000 — $30,000 more than its appraised value — the city was eager to take him up.
Democrat Tom Egan, who is running for mayor in November against incumbent Republican Mayor David Cassetti, praised the sale of the property, though he voiced concern that the sale may have been in violation of the Ansonia City Charter, which mandates a public hearing prior to any bidding on city properties. He says this may open the property up to ownership challenges in the future.
Ansonia Corporation Council John Marini denied the allegation, arguing that the public was given opportunity to speak, and that the relevant section does not apply to this property.
During the Board of Aldermen meeting on Oct. 10, questions were raised regarding parking at 2 Elm St. The police department had previously complained of inadequate parking at the site.
While parking plans have neither been submitted nor finalized, O’Malley says that the redeveloped property will require fewer parking spaces than the police department.
Site plan applications, which include parking plans, fall under the jurisdiction of the Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission.
Lalaj says he plans to travel to Europe at the end of the month, and that he will send the site plans to the Ansonia P&Z when he returns.
