A bit of demo work is possible at Tri-Town Plaza, one of Seymour’s most visible — and underdeveloped — commercial properties, according to First Selectman Kurt Miller.
Miller stopped by the Valley Indy Tuesday for a recording of “Valley Navel Gazing,” this publication’s weekly talk show/podcast.
The full episode will be posted to ValleyIndy.org and simulcast on 103.5 FM in New Haven on July 18.
Miller’s comments about Tri-Town Plaza on Derby Avenue came in response to a question from a reader about Tri-Town.
Miller said the property’s manager recently told him that the portion of the shopping center formally home to Ames supermarket could be demolished this year.
The businesses still there would remain.
The site formerly occupied by the empty Ames store would then be marketed as a “build-to-suit” opportunity — meaning it could be replaced with smaller buildings instead of one large box.
The thinking, according to Miller, is that the property would be more attractive to potential tenants that way.
“I think it’s much more attractive to businesses as just an open site, then you can construct the type of that building you want, as opposed to trying to conform to the space that’s already there,” Miller said.
The owner of the 10-acre property is Ronald Spector, who lives out of state.
Miller said Spector would be in town this September with a view to pulling demolition permits for the property.
The First Selectman cautioned that the latest news is speculative — that is, until permits are actually issued at Town Hall. Development plans at Tri-Town have come and gone like winter’s snow over the years.
But in an email Tuesday, Spector confirmed Miller’s comments.
“That is the plan,” Spector said.
The retail complex at 814 Derby Ave. is the most prominent vacant commercial real estate in Seymour.
No shortage of ideas have been floated for the largely empty space.
Ideas included a Tractor Supply Store and a fitness center, but neither happened.
The old Ames part of the plaza sits like a missing front tooth, and it becomes an issue in local elections every two years.
Tri-Town was also one of three Seymour properties studied in a 39-page report by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center published in May.
The report suggested trying to open an urgent care facility at Tri-Town, or a community college satellite campus.
The CERC report is embedded at the end of this post.
Miller suggested a cluster of small restaurants and entertainment to complement the movie theater and restaurants already there.
Another option — grocery store, a common suggestion by Seymour residents.
But he said the town has reached out to companies like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods “multiple times” without success. The Valley doesn’t have enough money to attract those popular brands.
“They’re not coming to Seymour,” Miller said.
He suggested a handful of “niche” restaurants, retailers and entertainment could complement the tenants already there to make the site a “destination location.”
“You need a strong anchor store, but I don’t think it necessarily needs to be big box stores,” Miller said.
