Proposed condos for an old Farrel Corp. building might not be the only new development for downtown Ansonia.
Last week, Michael Healey, the owner of Healey Ford, told the Ansonia Business Council that someone wants to purchase his car storage lot on Henry Healey Drive for a retail development there.
The owner of the former Ansonia Diner and Family Farm Market on Main Street, which is adjacent to the storage lot, is trying to attract a developer for the whole parcel, Healey said.
Anthony Esposito, who Healey identified as the owner of the Main Street property, was unable to be reached for comment.
The Ansonia Diner and Family Farm Market have been boarded up since November 2007, when a fire destroyed the building. (Read about the fire in the New Haven Register archives, here.)
Healey Ford no longer needs the 2‑acre lot for storage of excess cars because of the economy and a faster turn-around from Ford manufacturers, Healey said.
“They’re able to make the cars in four to six weeks now,” Healey said. “We used to have $8 million worth of cars all the time, but we don’t need that anymore.”
Healey said if the land sale goes through, there won’t be any changes at Healey Ford, which is located on Main Street.
“We’re fine right where we are,” Healey said. “We have enough space here.”
The news came on the heels of an announcement from local real estate agent, Alan Fischer, that a developer was looking at unused Farrel Corp. buildings on East Main Street for a condominium development.
“I wouldn’t say it is upscale or downscale, but market rate,” Fischer said last week.
The Farrel properties are large, with 212,000 square feet available and zoned for industrial use. But the plan is to market for other uses.
One of the buildings, the former pattern shop on East Main Street, is already sold and being developed into a self-storage facility. That deal closed in August.
We’re Alive
Rose Marie Spatafore, the chairman of the Ansonia Business Council, said the movements downtown show that Ansonia still has a pulse.
“I think it’s great that there’s a lot in the works,” Spatafore said. “It shows people that we’re alive.”
Other plans for downtown include sprucing up the train station platform and continuing a marketing program for independent shops in the area, Spatafore said.
Mayor James Della Volpe said renovations to the train station would help attract buyers to the proposed condos who will want to commute into Bridgeport, Stamford and beyond.
Della Volpe said the renovations will be paid for through state Department of Transportation money.
“They’re looking to renovate the Naugatuck Valley line,” Della Volpe said.. “It will be a slight renovation, a new roof and siding there. It will be more attractive for people to use the train.”
The downtown business marketing program, called “Getting to Know Us,” launched over the summer. People who visited five Ansonia businesses were entered into a drawing to win a free trip to the Barbados.
The business council is also planning to start a Web site, where online coupons can direct residents to deals at local businesses, Spatafore said.
