An executive with the California-based company researching whether to develop a swath of downtown says he’s received positive feedback from prospective tenants.
“We had a number of meetings with tenants and the reception was good. The reception was better from some than others, but it was all positive,” said Paul Bernard, executive vice-president of Eclipse Development Group. “We met tenants ranging from restaurants to entertainment, soft goods, hard goods, a little bit of everyone across the board to get a feel for who would be interested.”
Bernard made his comments Tuesday, during a meeting of the Derby Redevelopment Agency.
His company has signed a contract with Derby that could, finally, lead to the redevelopment of a portion of the land between Route 34 and the Housatonic River downtown.
A detailed plan could be in Derby’s hands sometime this summer.
No tenants have signed yet. Bernard declined to say who he’s chatted with. However, he said he met with a slew of companies at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas last month.
Bernard said there are two prospective tenants that have expressed the greatest interest. He described them as “of large enough size and quality” that Bernard said he could more forward with their commitments alone.
Besides retail recruitment efforts, Bernard has also solicited hotel and office space developers’ input, with no feedback thus far. A local housing developer sought Bernard’s input, but the market is “too soft on the multifamily side,” Bernard said.
Bernard’s company developed North Haven Commons, a retail center at 300 Universal Drive in North Haven.
The uncertainty about the number and type of tenants makes it harder for Eclipse’s three architects to design the proposed complex, and harder for the developers to anticipate how much land they will need for the Derby project.
“We’ve already modified one conceptual plan tremendously,” Bernard said. “Plans are tenant-driven. Some tenants are of different sizes, and others have modified their footprints based on the market. Some have grown larger, some smaller, and others are looking at different configurations.”
Right now Bernard’s company is concentrating on 14 acres in Derby’s redevelopment zone. They’re trying to work out a deal to purchase the former Lifetouch property off Route 34, which would add another 7 acres to the project.
Bernard said he had also spoken to another downtown property owner, but declined to say which one.
“We’re making our way through it, but essentially it’s a little early to talk to property owners. Until we know whether we need a 14- or 22-acre site, it’s hard to engage in conversation — we don’t know if we need their parcel or not,” he said.
A potential hurdle for the project — financing.
“This project will really depend on our ability to get a construction loan and a land loan,” Bernard said. “These days, you need a little more security with tenancy for a land loan. Based on tenants we have, we have to add a few more. Tenancy really does drive the deal — you don’t want to put the cart before the horse.”
In the meantime, the company will continue pursue environmental testing – the area has plenty of contamination which will need to be cleaned up. Testing will take a few weeks.
The contamination, Bernard said, doesn’t faze the company. The property that became North Haven Commons was also contaminated before its redevelopment.
“(It) doesn’t really affect the plan because you have to fix it regardless of where on the property the problem is. The DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] doesn’t just say you can build elsewhere on the property,” Bernard said.
