From Brian Lockhart, CT Post:
The city is aiming, either through friendly negotiation or more aggressive means like eminent domain, to get control of a blighted, prominent former South End factory whose owner has failed to move ahead with an eight-year old redevelopment plan.
“It’s just a massive property right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, so it’s important that be addressed,” Thomas Gaudett, deputy chief of staff to Mayor Joe Ganim, said Monday.
The site in question is the three-and-a-half story, 100,000-square-foot former Warnaco clothing factory at 330 Myrtle Ave. New York City-based CT Century Gardens LLC purchased it in 2004 and eight years ago obtained zoning approval to build a nearly 350-unit apartment complex there with ground-floor retail.
But that project never moved forward and late last year the city condemned the dilapidated site to be demolished.
CT Century Gardens, run by Albert Gad, is trying to overturn the condemnation in state Superior Court. A remote status conference before a judge is scheduled for July 20 during which, according to Bridgeport’s law department, the defendant has promised to present evidence of a partner prepared to move the redevelopment forward.
Full story here
OPED is slower than a turtle on tranquillizers.
LE,
I raise the ‘lowly turtle’ (with or without meds) to recognize that fact that it sticks it’s neck out to get ahead, as many City officials fail to do, up to the top. Former Warnaco 100,000 square foot structure has had dates with destiny in 2004, again in 2015 with zoning, but failed to move, and the site has not been uppermost in Mayoral annual statements as a priority….Aaah, it’s an election year, and another task falls to City Attorney office.
From those who are active in redevelopment, turtle speed may best describe the winner of a race with a narcisstic rabbit who fell asleep like other City Departments to where permits and other actions, know by City administrators as productive of dollars are allowed to fall asleep due to explanations like not enough or unproductive employees? Turtles have long lives, in general, suggesting wisdom in legends and other stories, and they have adapted over the earth to land and water habitats for survival. Can we expect more, better, faster, and dependable, from municipal offices? Time will tell.
The turtle I’m talking about is still faster than OPED and sticks its neck a out higher than any firecracker on the Fourth of July!
Had it not been for folks like Max Perez and a few others, there wouldn’t be such a department like OPED. One major problem with OPED is the City Attorney’s Office.