Plans call for $425 million revamp of Westbrook Outlets, including apartments and town homes

Luther Turmelle

A Hartford-based developer is proposing joining forces with the French company that owns the Westbrook Outlets retail center and redeveloping it into a sprawling mixed use complex off of Interstate 95.

Representatives for Hartford-based Lexington Partners and officials with the outlet center went before the town's Zoning commission on Monday night to do a pre-application presentation of their plans. The $425 million project that is being proposed would include 595 apartments, 100 town homes, a 100-room hotel and 75,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants on the 49.7 acre property on Flat Rock Place, Town Planner Peter Gillespie said Tuesday.

Part of the redevelopment calls for the demolition of four retail buildings on the outlet center property.

Right now, the biggest hurdle for the project, according to Gillespie, is whether the developers will be able to get permission from state officials to build a community septic system to service the massive mixed-use development. The developers are currently meeting with officials of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in an effort to get one of the approvals they need.

Christopher Reilly, Lexington Partners' president of property management, said the development of a community septic system "is something that is really daunting, a very complex process." He said work by experts the company has hired to address the feasibility of building the community septic system have been working about 18 months trying to figure out how to address the problem.

"We need a certain (capacity) level in order for this project to make sense for us," Reilly said. "We're going to spend millions of dollars to build and then operate a sewer system."

Westbrook is one of a number of shoreline communities that doesn't have public sewers and while the outlet center has a community septic system, Gillespie said it is not robust enough to accommodate the needs of the residential component that is being proposed for the site.

"Based on what they told us, the developers will spend the remainder of this year getting the necessary permits and approvals for the project," he said. "They told us construction would begin at some point during 2025."

Reilly said what types of retail will occupy the mixed-use complex are still a work in progress. He said given the amount of available retail space, the complex is unlikely to include a supermarket.

Gillespie said the zoning commission would need to approve several changes to existing zoning regulations in order for the project to move forward.

Outlet center giant Tanger Outlets sold the Westbrook retail center to a limited liability company, T Westbrook Center, for $40 million in May 2017, according to municipal records. Records filed with the Connecticut Secretary of State’s office at the time identified the principal of T Westbrook Center LLC as Hoche Partners Real Estate, which is a U.S. affiliate of a French company.

Officials with the New Jersey-based company that operates the outlet center, Levin Management, were not immediately available for comment.

Since the sale of the property, Gillespie said the level of tenants at Westbrook Outlets has declined steadily. The retail center has 290,000 square feet of space, but is only about 25 percent occupied, he said.

"It's one of our largest taxpayers and so there is concern about its future," he said of the retail center.

At the same time, Gillespie said, some people in town "are concerned about the impact that such a large mixed use project could have on a small town like ours in terms of traffic and other things."

Lexington Partners' expertise is in high-end apartments and town homes. Although the company's portfolio includes projects in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, the vast majority of its properties are in Connecticut, including five in Hartford, one in Old Saybrook and an 11-story office  building near New Haven's Union Station.

Reilly said he envisions a broad mix of people living in the Westbrook mixed-use complex.

"Some of the people who will be living there are older people who have made their money and want to stay in the area," he said. "I also see teachers and other people who work in the community living there. And I think we'll also see people who like the shore lifestyle, but can work remotely most of the time and occasionally take the train into work because it is so close by."

Wallingford hopes to build pedestrian bridge along Quinnipiac Linear Trail with $700K in state funds

Christian Metzger

WALLINGFORD — Nearly $700,000 in state funds would allow the Town of Wallingford to build a pedestrian bridge as part of it Linear Trail improvement project.

The funding – $690,000 – comes from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for the purpose of expanding a portion of the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail. The span pedestrian bridge would be built at the trailhead of Fireworks Island on the Quinnipiac River, adjacent to Main Street. Currently, the trailhead is accessible only via a privately-owned vehicle bridge. 

The new bridge would be accessible not only to bikes, but to wheelchair users as well, and provide a new connection to Main Street that won’t require having to cut through the adjacent condominium parking lot. 

According to Alison Kapushinski, the head of the town’s engineering department, it will allow pedestrians easier access to the trail and a route towards the center of town. 

“Following the completion of Phase 3B, pedestrians and bicyclists will have an alternate connection from Main Street in Yalesville to Hall Avenue, heading toward the center of town, avoiding some busy areas of Route 150,” Kapushinski said. 

The Quinnipiac River Linear Trail Advisory Committee plans to hold a public meeting Tuesday at town hall at 7 p.m, to discuss their construction plans and take hear from the public. 

While a bridge currently exists to the trailhead, the necessity for a new pedestrian bridge arose following failed negotiations with the existing owner to buy or share the existing span to make additional improvements to the area. Currently, the gravel lot at the end of the trail is used as spare parking for the condominiums as much as it is for those who wish to use the trail, creating a potential safety hazard.

The money from DEEP was provided via the Urban Act Grant Program, which allocates funds to eligible municipalities that are considered economically distressed, and uses money for a range of economic development, transportation, recreation, and other social services projects. 

State Rep. Mary Mushinsky played a key role in securing the funds from the state, having worked with Rep. Liz Linehan and House Speaker Matt Ritter to advocate for the necessity of the grant. The bridge project itself already has $400,000 allocated to it via the state Department of Transportation, and the trail committee secured an additional $150,000 in DEEP funding for design, engineering, and permitting. 

Mushinksky has long been an advocate for the trail and other environmental and recreational projects in Wallingford over her career as representative. 

“The Quinnipiac River Linear Trail will have its own bridge specifically for pedestrians and bicyclists, located just south of the private bridge,” Mushinksky said. “Only cars can use the existing private bridge, so there have been conflicts between pedestrians, bicyclists, and wheelchair riders who are trying to get to the trail and neighboring condominium owners. The new pedestrian bridge will eliminate the conflict in use of the bridge.”

Further details about the timeline for the project will be provided at next week’s meeting. Residents are encouraged to submit questions or comments online to the engineering department at engineering@wallingfordct.gov.