(Left to right) Jim and Steve Lepore with Chris and Jena Barretta.
DERBY – A redevelopment project that was supposed to bring 200 market-rate apartments to downtown Derby is mired in a lawsuit that pits the project’s investors against each other.
Downtown Derby LLC gained approvals from the city’s planning and zoning commission in February 2020 to redevelop 23 Factory St. into two, four-story buildings with 203 townhouses.
The plans also called for about 8,000 square feet of retail space. Derby officials claimed the project would generate $1 million in tax revenue per year and that it would be a “catalyst” for the long-stagnant redevelopment zone between Main Street and the Housatonic River.
However, in April 2023, brothers James and Steven Lepore filed a lawsuit against their business partners, husband and wife Christopher Barretta and Jena G. Bonazzoli-Barretta, who own 23 Factory St. (home to Barretta Landscaping & Gardens) through Barretta Property Management, LLC.
The plans also called for about 8,000 square feet of retail space. Derby officials claimed the project would generate $1 million in tax revenue per year and that it would be a “catalyst” for the long-stagnant redevelopment zone between Main Street and the Housatonic River.
However, in April 2023, brothers James and Steven Lepore filed a lawsuit against their business partners, husband and wife Christopher Barretta and Jena G. Bonazzoli-Barretta, who own 23 Factory St. (home to Barretta Landscaping & Gardens) through Barretta Property Management, LLC.
In a complaint written by attorney Edward W. Gasser, the Lepores allege they had a business agreement with the Barrettas to get the project off the ground.
According to the lawsuit, the Lepores guided the project through the Derby approval process, which included hiring a team of consultants to design, prepare and present plans to the city’s planning and zoning commission.
The Lepores successfully lobbied the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen to grant a tax break for the project – and got approval to use Derby land for some of the parking.
The deal, according to the Lepore brothers, was that they and the Barrettas were to form a new limited liability company – Downtown Derby LLC – to develop and ultimately sell 23 Factory St., with each of the four partners having a 25 percent interest.
However, the property remained under the control of Barretta Property Management, whose agents “have refused to transfer (the property) in order to allow for the sale of the approved project.”
Further complicating the matter — Christopher Barretta went on a crime spree in 2020 and 2021.
He was arrested for burglary in Shelton, larceny in West Haven, and intimidating a witness in Orange. He pleaded no contest to the crimes in October 2022 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Click here for a report from News 12 on his sentencing.
In a response to the Lepores’ lawsuit, Barretta Property Management, LLC denies there was an agreement in place to transfer the property, and says that Jena Bonazzoli-Barretta was the sole member of Derby Downtown, LLC.
Meanwhile, 23 Factory St. sits undeveloped. At ‘Trolley Point’ next door on Main Street, 105 apartments are being built, and downtown Derby is being transformed by the state’s widening of Main Street.
The Lepores allege that 23 Factory St. has become an eyesore – to the point where the property had been levied about $73,000 in fines from the city as of the summer of 2023.
The Lepore brothers are asking the court to appoint a temporary receiver to protect the Lepores’ investment as the lawsuit winds its way through court.
A hearing on that motion is scheduled for July.
The Valley Indy reached out via email to both attorneys in the case for comment.
Gasser, the lawyer for the Lepore brothers, said the lawsuit speaks for itself. Alexander Copp, the lawyer for the defendants, had not returned an email by 5 p.m. Feb. 19.
