Demolition at Tri-Town Plaza in Seymour started in December 2018, according to this Facebook image posted by The Valley Post.
SEYMOUR — A court hearing on alleged safety issues at Tri-Town Plaza was supposed to take place last week but has been pushed due to one of the plaza’s owner being out of the country.
However, Ron Spector, one of the owners, was expected to have a contractor on site at Tri-Town Plaza to address issues raised by the Seymour building inspector, according to a court filing by his lawyer, Dominick Thomas.
Over the summer building inspector Jim Baldwin, after issuing several orders to deal with safety issues left behind after the Ames section of the shopping center was torn down in 2018, asked a court to force the groups controlling the Tri-Town Plaza property and buildings to do something.
The Tri-Town Plaza land at 814 Derby Ave. is owned by Goodyear Property Management, LLC, along with Mark and Ellen Shaw, the trustees of the William H. Shaw Connecticut Realty Trust.
Connecticut Properties Tri-Town Plaza, LLC is the tenant, and controls the property, according to court documents. Spector, of Nevada, is the managing partment of the Tri-Town Plaza, LLC. Spector has been the public face of the shopping center and the point person for town officials.
Spector’s Tri-Town Plaza, LLC has a 1961 lease agreement with the owners valid for 99 years.
Court documents state Baldwin notified the owners and Tri-Town LLC several times about safety issues at what’s left of the Ames section of the shopping plaza. The property was cited with a blight violation in 2021.
The problems noted several months back included:
* Unsecured and failed structural components in the roof assembly
* Structural components not protected from frost and weathering
* Exterior walls with extensive cracks
* Walls that appear to be failing
Spector denies there are any unsafe conditions on the property.
The owners (Goodyear Property Management, LLC and the Shaw trust) filed a cross claim against Spector on Aug. 23. They say that, according to a 1961 lease,
the tenant (Spector’sTri-Town Plaza LLC) is responsible for making the repairs.
The owners allege that since no repairs have been made, Tri-Town Plaza LLC is in breach of the long-standing lease agreement.
The owners are threatening to terminate the lease, cut Spector’s Tri-Town LLC out of the picture and take possession of the property entirely.
Spector’s Tri-Town LLC answered the cross-complaint in a document filed Oct. 7, saying it would leave it up to Goodyear Property Management and the Shaw Trust to prove the assertions in court.
A remote hearing on the case is scheduled for 3 p.m. Oct. 24.
Spector has a tax appeal pending against the town. A hearing on the tax appeal is scheduled for 11 a.m. Nov. 15.
