The North End shouted and Mayor Joe Ganim heard the voices.
Following last week’s neighborhood confluence against a developer’s proposal to transform the shuttered Stop & Shop on Madison Avenue into a self-storage facility the mayor alternatively is embracing an idea advanced by former State Rep. Chris Caruso calling for elderly housing and a new senior center.
Zoning regulators are scheduled to weigh the storage facility pitch next week.
News release from Ganim:
Last Tuesday, February 14th, a public meeting was held in which residents of Bridgeport’s North End were able to express concerns for plans to renovate the space that used to occupy 2600 Madison Ave. The site’s new owner, Hugh Scott of SimCove LLC, has recently proposed to convert the building to a newly designed self-storage facility.
Members of the City Council who helped organize the event–Michelle Lyons, AmyMarie Vizzo-Panniccia, and Jeanette Herron–expressed their willingness to work with the developer to come up with a more suitable development for the site. Among many of the residents that opposed the possible construction of a storage facility, Mayor Ganim sided with North End residents, emphasizing that a senior citizen center would be more beneficial to improve quality of life for our seniors.
“Last week, several members of the delegation and I stood with Governor Lamont as he announced a $600 million investment in housing across the state,” Mayor Ganim stated. “We would urge the developer to look at housing alternatives for the site, and embrace the idea put forth by former-State Representative Christopher Caruso to develop elderly housing on the site, potentially incorporating a new North End senior center.”
Mayor Ganim welcomes the support of State Representative Marcus Brown and Senator Marilyn Moore that was offered at the last week’s public meeting to secure state financial resources for a housing development on the site.
The proponents of senior housing are numerous — the owner of the property is singular
The Senior Housing Hall of Fame has no members because they have not submitted a proposal.
Personally, I would think people in the neighborhood wouldn’t mind the building being converted into storage units. It is probably one of the least active businesses that would impact the current quality of life and traffic flow. Though it would be a hard sell politically in the current housing crisis, demand.
” I want to build storage units and rent out the space to richer people who have too much stuff” 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
I can see them/Caruso wanting elderly housing over affordable housing, less potential devaluation, and problematics that often accompanies affordable housing. Thought perhaps a 25% elderly, 25% affordable housing, and 50% fair market (to some effect) would service all segments of affordable housing crises and the surrounding community.
Even though, people who spend upward of 4 million on a parcel of land with an existing building have a pretty good idea of what they plan to develop on it. Converting existing buildings for stronger units, demolition and new construction of housing is quite a contrasting business adventure.
What is SimCove LLC, Pringles? 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPtmyx6VbgM
So this entire proposal is questionable, being politics. Either way though, Time Will Tell. JS
Thank You!