The Planning and Zoning commission Tuesday approved an application from Robert Scinto’s company to build a 94,000 square-foot building on Waterview Drive.
Scinto, a Shelton developer, said he plans to market it to one or two companies that need office and development space.
One of those companies is a paint company now based in Trumbull, Scinto said. He hasn’t secured other groups to move to the building yet, Scinto said during a public hearing on the application Tuesday.
“You need a very particular buyer for this site,” Scinto said.
But he doesn’t think he’ll have trouble finding that.
“Something like this, I’ll find tenants for,” Scinto said.
His plans call for a two-story building, of which the first floor would be research and development space, and the top floor would be office space.
“It’s going to be a quality designed building,” Scinto said.
It will sit on about 9.5 acres between Waterview and Coram Avenue. However there will be no access from Coram Avenue.
The property used to house the Laurel Heights Hospital, which was a facility for treating tuberculosis that operated from 1910 to 1981.
The old building has since been demolished. The land is currently undeveloped.
Waterview Drive currently houses several corporate buildings, including Hubbel Corp. and Pitney Bowes.
The proposed “Waterview Heights,” as Scinto has called the proposal in his application, would be located next to Hubbel and the Riverdell Condominiums.
The proposal would require 256 parking spots, with a potential future expansion of 110 more, according to the application.
The building could bring up to 549 jobs, according to the application.
Farrel
Scinto had come before the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2009 with similar plans, which were meant for Farrel Corp.
Scinto received approval, but then Farrel decided not to relocated to Shelton, and the plans stalled.
The fire marshal’s office has asked Scinto to install fire hydrants on the site, and the city engineer has asked Scinto to conduct another traffic study.
A neighbor on Coram Avenue spoke at the public hearing, asking Scinto to make sure enough white pine trees are planted so she doesn’t have to look at the building from her home.
The city requires a 100-foot buffer for the properties developed on Waterview Avenue, so that they are not facing homes on residential Coram Avenue.
A representative from the Rivendell Condo Association was at the public hearing but didn’t speak against the plan.
“They’ve been very good with us, so far,” said Bill McGuire, the president of the association.
