Westbrook Mall Developers Pitch Benefits to Skeptics

Francisco Uranga

WESTBROOK — Donald Poland pitched Westbrook residents on the benefits of a project to convert the ailing local outlet mall into a complex of 695 apartments and townhouses, retail space and a 100-room hotel. 

About 200 people — in a town of nearly 7,000 residents— filled the Westbrook High School Auditorium. It was an audience dominated by bald and gray heads.

Poland talked about the rapid town’s aging population.

“You’re not the oldest in the state,” Poland said and got the first laugh of the night. “You don’t want to look at Litchfield.”

Poland is a consultant for the project developers Lexington Partners and Inovalis, the owner of Westbrook Outlets. His pitch was that Westbrook has a problem — its population is aging — and that the project would bring new blood to the town, as well as tax and economic benefits for the community.

According to Poland, Westbrook saw a 30 percent decline in the population under 18 between 2010 and 2020, a rate three times the statewide average — a decline, he said, caused by young families fleeing the town in recent years in part due to a lack of multifamily and rental housing.

87% of the housing stock in Westbrook is single family and 80% owner-occupied housing, said Poland.

Poland told the audience the new project would increase tax revenues by $3 million a year compared to a cost of $1.3 million for education and other local expenditures.

The audience murmured approval as Poland shared the figures.

On the benefits side, Poland estimated the creation of 230 jobs during construction and some 300 permanent jobs once completed. The development would also generate added revenues for local businesses, he said.

Poland ended his presentation to audience applause.

Eric Fazilleau, deputy managing director of Inovalis, said the project would give new life to the mall, which he said was no longer viable in its current form, and had an occupancy rate of just 38%. He attributed the decline to the impact of COVID and a switch to consumer shopping online.

The project, if approved in its current form, would be built in two phases and would include 596 apartments — 30 studios, 209 one-bedrooms, 306 two-bedrooms and 50 three-bedrooms — 100 townhouses, 76,000 square feet of restaurants and entertainment retail and a 100-room hotel. It will also feature 14,400 square feet of amenities including a clubhouse, outdoor pool, fitness room and rooftop decks. A January presentation also mentioned a potential 1,000-seat amphitheater, although it was not mentioned at Thursday’s presentation.

Retrofitting malls into mixed-use properties is a trend in the real estate sector nationwide, where it has gained strength as a solution for ailing malls.

But a number of Westbrook residents voiced distrust for the large-scale project, which they said could stress emergency services and public infrastructure, intensify traffic and even increase tax burdens and costs despite optimistic projections claimed by the developers.

If each unit of the Westbrook Outlets redevelopment project were occupied by two people, that would bring nearly 1,400 new residents, roughly 20 percent of the town’s current population.

“I am very concerned about the size of this facility,” said one woman.

“Most of us are here because we love the sleepy town facility. We’re going to lose that,” said another one.

“The density they’ve proposed is higher than the density of most cities in the United States,” said a neighbor who was an architect and said he had worked with urban planner Jane Jacobs.

“Would you agree that if any of the financial projections weren’t quite right and the town would need to spend additional funds, the developer would pay that amount?” said another neighbor, who received a standing ovation.

The developers offered that given currents market conditions, rents would be less than $2,000 for one-bedroom apartments, more than $2,500 for two-bedrooms and up to $4,000 for three-bedrooms. They also suggested that some of the units might be deemed affordable, with lower rents.

Asked about the possibility of reducing the size of the project, they said they needed the size to make the project cost-effective given the need to construct an expensive septic system. Westbrook has no sewers.

The Q&A was at times contentious.

Former local Democratic First Selectman candidate Hiram Fuchs dismissed the idea that the decline of Westbrook Outlets was due to the pandemic, blaming owner mismanagement instead.

Fazilleau replied forcefully.

“Can I ask you a question? What business are you doing?”

“What business am I doing?” Fuchs replied.

“Yes, please.”

” I’m not here to talk about myself. I’m going to talk about your project. Okay?”

The audience cheered.

Visibly annoyed, Fazilleau said he had succeeded in the real estate business in more than six countries and criticism of mismanagement was unfair.

After the event, Fazilleau told CT Examiner that he had expected those sorts of concerns, attributing them to a “natural human reaction to change.”

Only one of the 20 neighbors who asked questions at the event spoke clearly in favor of the project.

When one neighbor asked what the developers would do if the town blocked the project, Reilly dismissed the possibility.

“The people that would support this are probably not in this room,” Reilly replied.

Edward Cassella, as legal counsel for the project, said that in February the developers had filed an application with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for construction of the septic system.

A public hearing will be held on July 22 with Zoning.

Cassella said that much of the work is already authorized under the current rules, but the developers need additional permits, for example, to build six-story buildings. They will also need approval from Inland Wetlands and the state Department of Transportation.

Cassella estimated they would complete the approval process by the second quarter of 2025.

Meriden to improve East Main and Broad Street intersection near Stop & Shop

Mary Ellen Godin

MERIDEN — The city could begin work next year to straighten out the disjointed intersection at East Main and Broad streets that will allow for safer crossings and improved traffic flow.

The project entails straightening out the jagged intersection, new curbs and sidewalks along East Main Street adjacent to the Stop & Shop.

The work moved forward a step after the City Council recently approved allowing acting City Manager Emily Holland to accept funding from the South Central Region Council of Governments to begin construction.

It is estimated to cost $3.8 million with SCRCOG paying 100 percent of the construction costs and the city paying for the design work, city officials said. Because Route 5 is a state road, the work will be on both sides of East Main Street

"It's a local capital improvement program," said City Engineer Brian Ennis. "We're reconfiguring the crossing and taking that jog out of the intersection." 

The intersection was identified by SCRCOG as one of several along the Route 5 corridor in need of improvement to aid traffic and pedestrian safety. The 2006 Route 5 corridor study looked at intersections from Wallingford to Meriden's northern border. Other improved intersections in the city included Gypsy Lane and Green Road, and Ann Street and Gale Avenue. Upcoming work is expected at the intersection of Camp and Broad Streets and the 691 ramp. The project had a public hearing and was approved in 2019.

The project study area consisted of an approximately five-mile segment of the US Route 5 corridor within Meriden and Wallingford. The southern limit of the study area begins at the Wilbur Cross Parkway interchange in Wallingford and extends about five miles to the north, ending at Stoneycrest Drive in Meriden.

It included 22 signalized intersections. These intersections, in addition to one unsignalized intersection, were chosen as study intersections to be investigated in greater detail, according to the report

The road and curb work is not expected to impact the memorial monuments on Memorial Boulevard, Holland told city councilors.

The Route 5 East Main Street intersection is among the top three noted for accidents, according to the study. Earlier this year, a westbound  driver missed the left lane onto Broad Street and damaged the World War I memorial in the median.

"The work won't require a delay on East Main Street," Holland told council members. "There will be public information and communication. They are not anticipating any closures and minimal impact."

Long-term solutions mentioned in the study include potential rotaries at East Main and Broad streets as well as Camp and Broad streets, according to the report.

An economic development study of the Route 5 corridor from the Wallingford border found that lot sizes on the eastern side of Broad Street are shallow, leading to few options for commercial development.

However, residential properties were acquired to build a Dollar General store on the western side and Batista companies is building its corporate headquarters and a new Dunkin' and other commercial space by combining several lots on the eastern side. 

East Norwalk to be transformed by Mill Pond development, train station expansion and other projects

Katherine Lutge

NORWALK — East Norwalk is set for transformation in the next few years with several public and private projects.

These include the lowering and widening of East Avenue, the expansion of the East Norwalk Train Station, the development of a new mixed-use apartment building at Mill Pond, and the establishment of an MTA maintenance facility at Norden Park. While these initiatives promise enhanced infrastructure and new residential opportunities, they also bring community concerns and ongoing discussions about traffic and other issues.

Here is a look at what is coming.

East Avenue road lowering

The gateway to the neighborhood, East Avenue is a bumpy, narrow and crowded road that connects East Norwalk under the railway to I-95. In conjunction with the $1 billion Walk Bridge replacement project, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is lowering the avenue between Fort Point Street and Winfield Street.

The project also includes widening about 1,600 feet of the avenue with new and wider sidewalks on both sides of the street. Drainage will be improved as well.

By lowering the avenue, the vertical clearance will be increased. When complete, there will be four 10-foot travel lanes under the rail bridge, which will increase the road’s capacity, according to the Walk Bridge website.

Jim Travers, Norwalk’s director of the Transportation, Parking and Mobility Department, said the entire area will be upgraded.

“All of Cemetery Circle, East Avenue to Cemetery up to Gregory and back, will have all new streetscapes, sidewalks on both sides, lanes that are indicative of the speeds that we want to see, and introduction of bike lanes that go around there,” Travers said earlier this year.

East Norwalk train station

Also with the Walk Bridge, CDOT is expanding the platforms at the East Norwalk Train Station to accommodate six cars. In addition to the new platforms, commuter parking will be expanded.

“The East Norwalk Train Station will be updated as part of the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Track Improvement Mobility Enhancement 2 Projects — a sub-component of the WALK Bridge Replacement project,” the Walk Bridge website states.

The station will be fitted with new canopies, ADA accessibility, parking improvements, and a dedicated drop-off lane.

While this work is being done, the station will temporarily close for a few weeks at a time. Work began on the project in March with a three week closure while crews installed a new underdrain system under the station’s northern parking lot.

The process to replace the northbound platform will begin in August, CDOT said. 

Mill Pond: 1 Cemetery St.

Just down the road from the station, the former Wells Fargo is in the midst of being redeveloped into a 77-unit mixed-use apartment building.

At 1 Cemetery St., the property borders the Mill Pond, and the owners are Mill Pond Holdings LLC, thus it is known as the Mill Pond development.

Approved in March 2023, East Norwalk residents heavily protested the development, citing concerns over traffic, the environment, and the scale of the project.

“Traffic will be a nightmare,"said resident Kimberly Bastoni during the public hearing in March 2023. “Delivery trucks blocking traffic, people trying to parallel park, amenities that most people will not use. … I’m asking you to please listen to the taxpaying residents and scale back this project.”

Breaking ground this year, the project is comprised of two buildings: one large building spanning most of the property and one smaller building to the side.

Norden Park: 10 Norden Place

This June, the city approved plans for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to occupy part of the empty Norden Park office complex to operate a maintenance facility.

The MTA plans to lease 113,000 square feet of the 635,430-square-foot building and use part of the vast parking lot to store vehicles and for employee parking. The plan is to have about 150 employees report to the site and then transport the work team out to their sites in buses, trucks and vans.

Throughout the approval process, dozens of residents protested MTA’s plan over concerns of truck traffic, safety and air quality.

“I fear that between the buses, the commuters, the new construction at Mill Pond — 77 new apartments — all these factors are adding to the traffic on East Avenue,” said Karen Cole, an East Norwalk resident during a public hearing in May.

The East Norwalk Neighborhood Association hired experts to examine the project and testify on its traffic and air quality impacts.

“There is definitely an impact,”said Devki Desai, air quality expert and civil engineer during a meeting in May. “It would increase the airborne PM2.5 concentration by approximately 3 percent along the residential properties and senior care facility near the Norden Place site.”

Norden Park once was home to Northrop Grumman-Norden Systems, Tauck Worldwide Tours, Pepperidge Farm and Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School.

Following its approval, the apartment complex behind the site, Halstead Norwalk, filed an appeal of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s approval. The case is ongoing.