Jan 17, 2008
Redding
Starting this year: G&B project goes ‘vertical’
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by SUSAN WOLF
pilot@thereddingpilot.com
It was seven years ago that Steve Soler first set foot on the former Gilbert & Bennett wire mill site; this year, he will finally see building construction and light at the end of the tunnel.
Mr. Soler is president of Georgetown Land Development Co., which is redeveloping the former industrial site into a pedestrian-friendly village. A mix of residential and commercial and retail uses is planned at the site, along with affordable housing for the elderly, a community theater, a health club, a Norwalk Hospital medical center, and a new railroad station. The environmental problems on the site are being remediated.
The remedial action plan applies to the manufacturing area of the former wire mill facility. Where there are areas of soil contamination, they will either be excavated or capped. The cap consists of a number of things, such as placing new buildings over the soil, or keeping existing buildings, or placing a liner system in between buildings to prevent any precipitation from contacting any of the soils. The remediation will go hand in hand with the construction at the site.
“I told the town I would get the entitlements (state and local permits) and, as is my business model, sell to a vertical developer who would build what we planned,” said Mr. Soler.
“We are now in the final phase of negotiating terms with third-party vertical developers so the project can get built,” he said. He explained that with every element of the project, his company is identifying the parties it thinks “are appropriate to go vertical on the site. By the end of January, we should have a group or groups identified for the entire site.”
He is referring to companies that might build a residential component or a commercial building or the theater or the affordable housing.
“We are looking for the right people to treat the property the way we believe it should be treated,” he said.
At this point, Mr. Soler expects infrastructure work to begin this spring. Detailed plans are ready to go. Building is expected by late summer or early fall.
“Our goal is to put in the infrastructure and then sell the development rights to third parties,” he said. “We expect all of the infrastructure to be in by the end of 2008. I would like to be optimistic and think all [the build-out] will be in by 2011, but what will drive this is the state permitting process.”
Codes prevail
Third-party developers will not have free rein at the site, Mr. Soler indicated. They must adhere to the zoning code for the property in terms of what is permitted to be built at the site, and to the design code, which specifically deals with how buildings will look. Both were approved by the town’s Zoning Commission. “The third party has to build what we designed,” he said.
The third element that comes into play, said Mr. Soler, is the covenants in the land record that say how the village will operate.
Mr. Soler said the Georgetown Special Taxing District was established to oversee the operation, and to provide road and green space maintenance, among other things. It is the entity that will “self-police and self-manage” the village, he said. However, Mr. Soler was quick to point out that the taxing district does not dilute the rights of the town to enforce its zoning laws or any other of its rights.
It won’t be long before the third-party developers are announced, giving the public a glimpse of the kinds of enterprises that will be occupying the site in the years to come.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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