'Get the project rolling': West Haven massive retail plan gains key support from CT lawmakers

Brian Zahn

WEST HAVEN — As the City Council ironed out final details of the city’s 2021-22 budget, Mayor Nancy Rossi received news that she said made her smile.

The state House of Representatives in a 142-0 vote passed a special taxation district for The Haven large-scale retail project that had been requested by the developer, Rossi learned from the state’s delegation to the House.

“We don’t always get such good news,” she said.

The measure would represent a significant step forward for an economic development project that has spanned at least three mayoral administrations and has been slow-moving because of various hurdles for nearly a decade.

Empty former businesses and homes now dot the area targeted for development.

If the special taxation district — which would allow a higher sales tax to be collected at the shopping destination — were to receive final passage at the state level, it would do a lot to keep developer Simon Premium Outlets engaged in the project, according to multiple city officials. The measure now heads to the state Senate.

The lead developer for the project with Simon Premium Outlets did not respond to a request for comment.

But West Haven Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan said, “The developer proposed this tool to advance development.”

Because the project — a 261,182-square-foot experiential shopping destination combining high-end retailers with restaurants, green space and the nearby waterfront — is estimated to cost $200 million, Tiernan said the developer is seeking to create a more favorable bonding situation for itself.

“One way to lower the costs on the project is if you could lower your borrowing costs and tax district bonds; the tax district consists of one property owner,” said Tiernan.

Tiernan also said that for a developer like Simon, the difference between getting a bond backed by a tax district and borrowing money from a bank for an experiential mall could be 4- to 5-point difference in interest rates.

State Rep. Charles Ferraro, R-West Haven, said he was pleased with the bipartisan vote to advance the project.

“We were approached by the developers, who made it clear to us in order for the project to go forward they needed to have this special taxation district, which gives them ability to charge 1 to 1.5 percent above state sales tax for people who shop in that facility,” said Ferraro.

“If they didn’t get this special tax district, they were doubtful they’d be able to bond effectively to finish the project,” he said.

Ferraro said he was optimistic for what the project could do for an “economically distressed” city.

“It’s a win for the city of West Haven because we’ll have something beautiful in our city, instead of a rat-infested, boarded-up fire hazard,” he said.

State Rep. Michael DiMassa, D-West Haven, said he hopes the timing could be to the city’s advantage.

“It’s an ambitious plan, especially with the way retail is right now coming around the bend of COVID. I think there’s going to be a resurgence in retail and outdoor activities and dining, and I think if they can catch that boom, the retail piece might work,” he said.

“People are ordering online, so because people have been shut up in the house they want to get out,” DiMassa said.

DiMassa also said he believes there is similar momentum in the Senate for the special tax district program as there was in the House.

“I know they’re excited about it,” he said of West Haven’s Senate delegation. “Anything we can do in this region with economic development and jobs.”

Ron Quagliani, chairman of the West Haven City Council, said he does not want to “jump the gun” before the measure passes through the Senate, is signed by Gov. Ned Lamont and the special taxation district agreement goes before the council, but he remained optimistic about the potential.

“Hopefully in a short period of time we can get the project rolling. We’ve been talking about the project for much too long,” he said.

New London must insist on a Fort Trumbull Coast Guard museum

David Collins

Now that we know the clock is ticking on a put-up-and-build-or-get-out deadline for a Coast Guard museum on the precarious and small flood plain in front of the downtown New London Union Station, city officials need to push the project to where it belongs: at Fort Trumbull.

Indeed, the museum could be built not only at the fort peninsula but actually on the 16 acres of Fort Trumbull State Park, which is ground zero for Connecticut and U.S. maritime history.

The original fort, built in 1777, was attacked in 1781 during the Revolutionary War and held by British forces under the command of Benedict Arnold.

The area surrounding the fort was important to the birth of the Coast Guard, where Coast Guard officers were first trained when the country's lifesaving service merged with its the revenue cutter service.

The Coast Guard has been there ever since, now operating a search-and-rescue station in the buildings that housed what became today's Coast Guard Academy.

There are magnificent places on the grounds of the park to accommodate a fine tribute to the brave men women of the Coast Guard, a museum that could tell the story of the service in the appropriate context of maritime history.

There is a high perch, for instance, adjacent to the Coast Guard station, that would give museum visitors equal access to the magnificent fort, already restored to its 19th century iteration.

Visitors could also maybe tour the working Coast Guard station as well as ships that might be made available from time to time on the ample piers.

There are amazing views out the Thames River toward the open sea and all across the river basin, where the vista includes the site of another Revolutionary War battle, in Groton, the striking New London skyline and the makings of modern marine warfare, submarines under construction at Electric Boat.

Never mind an expensive bridge at the current proposed location, there could be water taxis with weather enclosure that could run almost year-round to Groton and downtown New London, the river museum.

The state owns the land. Infrastructure is all in place. Parking could be worked out.

It is such a perfect solution for siting a Coast Guard museum that it makes you want to laugh, or maybe cry, at the crazed plans to build it on a problematic site downtown. Those call for building a $20 million bridge across the railroad tracks to connect the museum to a parking garage that is near capacity most summer days.

Never mind that state environmental officials might never allow it to be built on the flood-prone site, water-locked by the high-speed rail line. After seven years of trying, the museum association has spent millions on salaries and expenses but raised only a small piece of what it might eventually take to build such a complicated project.

I take that back about laughing. It's not funny. It's so ridiculous, it is an affront to us all. And most of Connecticut politicians are indulging the fantasy of a nonprofit with little Connecticut representation.

I call on the New London City Council to step in here and make it clear that the planning needs to change direction, toward Fort Trumbull. Set up a committee. Start the discussions. A great opportunity for the city is being wasted.

There is no way a museum will be built on the impossible downtown site by May 2024, and the city should not give one more minute beyond the generous 10-year deadline for building something that accompanied the gift of the downtown land.

Now is the time to turn the ship to a new direction and build a tribute to the Coast Guard that will make the city proud and respect the rich maritime history of Fort Trumbull.

After pause, developer moves forward with Windsor hotel plans

Matt Pilon

A Groton-based developer whose plans to build an approximately $14 million extended-stay hotel on Windsor’s Day Hill Road were delayed by the emergence of COVID-19 says he’s moving forward with the project, hoping the hospitality market will begin to rebound by the time construction is complete.

”We are moving forward with the project,” Jignesh “Jimmy” Patel said Tuesday. “We put it on hold for a little bit with everything going on. We didn’t know how things would play out.”

The pandemic decimated the U.S. hotel sector more than most, with the American Housing and Lodging Association (AHLA) calling 2020 “the most devastating year on record in 2020, resulting in historically low occupancy, massive job loss, and hotel closures across the country.”

In Connecticut, there have been a number of hotel closures and distressed sales.

The industry is not expected to recover to its 2019 levels until 2024, with modest upticks in corporate travel and overall occupancy predicted by AHLA for this year.

Patel now wants to build a larger hotel at 777 Day Hill Road. He will appear before the town’s planning board on Wednesday night seeking approval for 120 rooms, up from the 106 rooms officials had approved last February, just prior to COVID-19 hitting Connecticut.

If the amendment is approved, the floor area of the hotel would increase from approximately 75,400 square feet to 88,000 square feet, according to application materials.

Patel said he hopes to start construction late this year or early next and will take about 14 months to complete.

“Hopefully by then the market is back to normal a bit,” he said.

Patel would lease the land for the hotel from developer-landlord Mark Greenberg, who is building an indoor soccer dome -- located behind where the hotel would be built -- approved by the town last fall. The Day Hill Dome will join several outdoor fields at the site, which is adjacent to the FastPitch Nation softball facility that debuted in 2019.

Kopraski hired as VP, GM of Pelletier Builders

Scott Kopraski has been hired as vice president and general manager of Pelletier Builders, a subsidiary of Plainville engineering and construction company Loureiro Engineering Associates Inc.

Kopraski is a LEED accredited professional, an authorized OSHA outreach training program instructor, and a licensed construction supervisor in Massachusetts.

Cheetos will be made in Connecticut as Frito-Lay announces $235 million expansion bringing 120 jobs to Killingly

Stephen Singer

Snack maker Frito-Lay is looking to add two Cheetos production lines in a $235 million project in Killingly that would create 120 jobs, state and local officials announced Wednesday.

Connecticut Innovations, the state’s venture capital fund, is providing up to $5.5 million in sales and use tax exemptions on capital equipment and construction materials for Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo.

The company will expand its manufacturing plant and add two Cheetos manufacturing lines. The building expansion is set to begin in spring 2022 and the project is expected to be complete two years later.

The project will require local zoning approval.

Frito-Lay’s Killingly site began operations in 1980 with 200 employees and now employs about 740 workers.

Laura Maxwell, senior vice president of supply chain at PepsiCo Foods North America, credited support from local and state officials for “helping enable growth in this community which ultimately supports Frito-Lay’s goals as well.”

“We are very excited to celebrate Frito-Lay’s continued success and expansion,” Killingly Town Manager Mary Calorio said. “This is more than an investment in a building and equipment. This is an investment in people and their careers.”

“This latest investment by Frito-Lay is a clear indication of its commitment to Connecticut and we are thrilled to be such an integral part of the company’s long-term growth plans,” said David Lehman, the state’s economic development commissioner.