A steering committee created by Derby Mayor Anita Dugatto is trying to decide which of three downtown buildings to enroll in a program that could, possibly, result in the property receiving thousands of dollars in tax breaks or other economic development incentives.
The three properties under consideration are:
1. 195 Main St., where there is a redevelopment project already underway.
2. 33 Elizabeth St., a four-story building (the former United Illuminating building) that houses a ballroom dance studio on its first floor.
3. 17 Elizabeth St., the building that currently houses an Archie Moore’s restaurant.
A steering committee — the city’s “Vibrant Communities Initiative Steering Committee,” that is — has decided those historic properties are under-utilized and have the potential to be game-changers for the downtown.
The Vibrant Communities Initiative is a program of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation and the state Office of Economic and Community Development.
In Derby, a $50,000 state grant is being used to identify a property and propose reuse options, including crunching the numbers to see how much money is needed to make a project financially feasible.
Choosing one of the properties doesn’t guarantee the property will receive economic development grants or tax breaks, but it could help the property owner decide what type of project could qualify for such incentives.
The long-term hope is that making redevelopment more affordable at one of the old buildings could act as a catalyst and spur more redevelopment projects in downtown Derby north of Route 34 (Main Street).
Click here to learn more about the initiative from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
At a meeting in Derby City Hall June 25, John Guszkowski and Evelyn Cole Smith introduced the program to the public.
Both are employees of CME Associates, Inc., a company out of Woodstock.
Guszkowski is a planner, Cole Smith is the company’s director of architecture.
Guszkowski said the steering committee started with a list of 20 or so properties stretching from Main Street all the way north to the Derby Public Library before narrowing it down to the three downtown properties.
The Sterling Opera House on Elizabeth Street, by the way, wasn’t included on this particular list as Derby is already working on ways to get that building into shape.
“Our goal is to create a sort of study and template for how buildings in downtown Derby could be redeveloped, rather than left vacant, left rotting, or torn down and redeveloped some other way,” Guszkowski said.
The meeting June 25 sought input from the public as to which property should be picked.
Most of the 25 or so people in the audience didn’t answer that question directly, but two suggested 195 Main St., close to Derby City Hall, be chosen.
The spot is highly visible to the more than 40,000 vehicles that travel on Route 34 every day.
But, someone — Adam Zadrozny and his business partners — is already dumping a small fortune into the building in an effort to breath life into it. Zadrozny and his partners are in the midst of a massive interior renovation of 195 Main St., which they hope to turn into a high-tech baseball clinic.
Zadrozny highlighted some of the financial hurdles to redeveloping an old property such as the one at 195 Main St.
Namely, more construction challenges are discovered behind each floorboard or wood panel.
But that property might be too far along its redevelopment to qualify for the “Vibrant Cities” program.
The building at 33 Elizabeth St. — once the offices of United Illuminating — could be the best match for the program.
The building is located centrally in the heart of downtown and it is massive, at least by Derby’s standards. It’s four stories tall, with office space facing Elizabeth Street. The rear section of the structure stretches all the way to Minerva Street.
Yet most of it sits vacant at this time, according to city officials.
“Could there be wonderful loft apartments or condos on that rear side? But we don’t know what it would cost to clean it up and build it out,” Guszkowski said. “We need to do some analysis. What would it take to convert the office space already there into modern, more attractive offices?”
CME Associates will make a recommendation on a property within the next two weeks or so, Guszkowski said. That recommendation has to be approved by the steering committee, the mayor and an official from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
A second public forum will then be scheduled.
Downtowns, once the economic hubs of places such as Ansonia and Derby, collapsed with the advent of shopping malls and retail strips. The recession of 2008 wasn’t exactly sloppy wet kisses for the lower Naugatuck Valley, either.
But, there’s been movement locally, Guszkowski said, particularly with several hundred condo and apartment units going online in downtown Shelton, a stone’s throw from downtown Derby.
“These people need places to go, places to eat, places to spend their money, places to be entertained. That recent development has created an opportunity,” Guszkowski said.
But some in the audience June 25 were not convinced Shelton residents can boost downtown Derby’s economy.
Sam Ghalayini, the owner of the Main Street Grocery and Deli at 127 Main St., warned against relying on Shelton.
“They already have everything over the bridge. They don’t need Derby, to be honest with you,” Ghalayini said.
Frank Vaccarino said downtown Derby’s issue is a lack of infrastructure, and the fact the city is cut into sections by highways.
He said pedestrian bridges are needed to people to cross busy Main Street/Route 34.
“Right now we are surrounded by highways we can’t cross,” Vaccarino said.
Derby Mayor Dugatto pointed out the state’s years-in-the-making widening of Route 34 is supposed to make the road more pedestrian-friendly.
The audio below contains some of the questions and comments offered by the public June 25.
