Tri-Town Plaza at 814 Derby Ave.
SEYMOUR – One of the controlling parties of the Tri-Town Plaza shopping center on Derby Avenue issued a statement saying he’ll donate his lease to a nonprofit group if he can’t settle a lawsuit with the Town of Seymour.
“Should we fail to achieve a fair and equitable resolution, I plan to donate the remaining lease term to a church, synagogue, or registered Connecticut nonprofit organization,” Ron Spector said in a written statement to The Valley Indy.
Towns can’t collect taxes on houses of worship and many nonprofits (though towns do levy personal property taxes on nonprofits).
Spector also alleges the litigation and the town’s “heavy-handed approach has rendered the property unmarketable.”
However, Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis issued a statement in response saying the town has not been an obstacle to redevelopment.
“The town completely rejects the notion that actions by the town have prevented Mr. Spector from revitalizing the Tri-Town Plaza,” Drugonis’ email reads. “We have been consistently disappointed with the total lack of investment, the deteriorating condition of the property and the failure to return this valuable property to a productive re-use.”
Background
Tri-Town Plaza has been under-developed for years, even though nearby shopping centers have been born (Quarry Walk in Oxford) or reborn (Red Raider Plaza in Derby).
Tri-Town was once home to an Ames department store, an Adams grocery store and a multi-screen movie theater.
Ames closed in 2002. The supermarket closed in 2003. The two anchor stores comprised about 94,000 square feet of space.
The movie theater went out of business at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spector’s statement is the latest in a long line of disputes between him and the town. Click here for a story from First Selectman Robert Koskelowski’s time in office. Click here for a story from First Selectman Paul Roy’s era about the parties agreeing on a fair market value for the plaza.
The current dispute started In 2018, when contractors demolished the central portion of the strip mall. The work left behind structural problems that were a threat to public safety, according to court filings from the town.
A blight designation was issued by the town in 2021. The town filed its lawsuit in 2022, saying Spector and the owners of the plaza had done nothing to address the issues.
In October 2022, The Valley Indy published a story reporting that the town and Tri-Town had worked out a deal in court to address the alleged safety issues at the property.
However, in August 2024 the town alleged that Spector never complied with that deal, and that the plaza’s buildings were still being neglected. The town asks for Tri-Town to pay Seymour $73,923.01.
Spector retained new legal counsel in October, and a trial is tentatively scheduled for August 2025.
Ownership
The ownership of Tri-Town is complicated.
The 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 partner of Connecticut Properties Tri-Town Plaza, LLC.
Spector has a 1961 lease agreement with the owners valid for 99 years.
Taxes
In his statement, Spector said he went to court in a separate case to appeal his tax assessment. That got him a $200,000 refund. He states the lawsuit is costing taxpayers future revenue.
In his statement, Spector blamed the town for blocking a potential restaurant, and a potential sports and recreation facility.
While many ideas and potential developments have been floated at Tri-Town, no formal presentation of applications have been submitted to town hall.
