From Keila Torres Ocasio, CT Post:
Those traveling by train Thursday had first-class seats to the demolition of the interconnected Barnum Avenue buildings once symbolic of this city’s booming industrial past.
Yet, in another four years, city officials hope the buildings will give riders a more modern view and a more positive reason to pause, literally.
“We could conceivably see a train station here in 2016 (or) 2017,” said David Kooris, the city’s economic development chief, standing in wet dirt as cranes threw steel beams onto a pile nearby
Full story here.
0
Mayor Finch is taking the long-term perspective. Yesterday’s demolition constitutes a genuine economic development–the kind he can call his own.
I hope it underscores the East End’s vast opportunities.
Local Eyes,
Anyone from Bridgeport would know this site is in the East Side, not the East End. Ooops, my bad … you are not from Bridgeport.
You’re just upset because recent actions did not include building a new bridge for the troll to crawl under.
Economic development and long-term perspective go hand in hand. They certainly do when you are using your own personal money, I assure you. Putting your own liquid funds at risk and then signing for additional debt that must be paid back over time with interest forces responsible persons to pay attention to the assumptions as to what constitutes ‘progress’ or ‘profit.’
In the public sphere, that is where public land, public money currently, and public guarantees long run, are the major components of a project plus more than a dash of eternal optimism and supporters’ claims of “vast opportunities,” one person often gets the credit for ‘success’ and there is usually no one left when blame is assessed other than the ‘lowly taxpayer’ who will stagger towards each tax payment date with no real idea provided as to whether the community is gaining or sinking.
Think about Bridgeport properties this past year. How many came down? How many are going up? How long does the land stand open to the sky above? Empty private property may be a stage in “creative destruction” but what story must be told with footnotes, diagrams and financial timelines to get the taxpayer to be a partner? Transparency of operating budget, public sharing of capital budgets, community discussions of the annual audit are ways to take the municipal temperature fiscally. Sending in the plows to tear down the old that no longer functions is an easy part of the process. Reliable information, accountable governance, and trust-building activities precede most business decisions to commit serious capital. Are those resources and activities available in Bridgeport to those who put their money at risk? Time will tell.
Bottom line is even if a station never gets put in, they eliminated a terrible eyesore.
Coach T understands the “can’t lose” transformation happening on Bridgeport’s East Side. I like the coach’s style.
Coach T,
Finch took a delinquent taxpayer off the hook.
Finch took the taxpayer off the hook for the demolition costs.
Finch took the taxpayer off the hook for the environmental clean-up of the site.
Finch took someone off the hook by not having a full and complete investigation of the various arson fires that took place at the property.
Finch continues to negotiate with the delinquent taxpayer on adjacent properties.
And the taxpayers are supposed to feel good about this?
The taxpayers are footing the bill for a deadbeat developer who has a history of properties like this. That is the bottom line.
BTW, What does the T in Coach T stand for? Tax avoidance?
DiNardo *winner*
Bob Walsh–I made a mistake (I’ve made bigger ones). I was wrong and I apologize to thousands of misnamed Bridgeporters.
What does it take to get off the hook?
Pitch a tent on Steal Point. Live there until the luxury condominiums are built.
I understand why you want me living “off the grid.”
Coach T,
I am beginning to think the T stands for Timpanelli. Am I right?
Sounds like the perfect plan for the BRBC to endorse. Helps businesses beat Bridgeport taxes, forces the financial burden on the residential property owners and not the commercial ones, paves the way for future windfall profits for businesses. Give me a T!!!
How many times do I have to hear about this four-lane highway from I-95, oh, excuse me, it is now from the port with no ships loading or unloading to Remington Woods?
The only beneficiaries of this road are the owners of the dilapidated, environmentally challenged properties along the way who are hoping the city “takes” their properties through eminent domain and thereby assumes the environmental liabilities.
The one main reason for the new station is it will allow the high-speed train from Boston to stop in Bridgeport.
The configuration of the present station and track setup will not allow for that high-speed train to stop in Bridgeport.
I don’t care who gets credit for taking down the old buildings at this site, I don’t care who gets the credit for a new station, let’s just get it done.
Bob, there will be NO four-lane road from the docks to Remington Woods. The cost of replacing the bridge & tracks at Crescent Ave & Seaview 10 years ago was $55 MILLION. Replacing this bridge would also mean for a certain distance the tracks would be at street level through the East Side.
The ‘high speed’ train is another government, waste-of-money joke. The train can’t go that fast that often and the more often it stops the slower it goes.
Acela NY-DC cost $259-$375 time 2hrs-50 minutes
normal train NY-DC $164-$205 time 3hrs-20 minutes
You save 1/2 an hour. Big deal.
Cost to install Acela $1.2 Billion with a B.
According to this guy, Acela is losing (our) money hand over fist.
boardingarea.com/viewfromthewing/2013/04/25/does-amtrak-actually-lose-money-on-acela-express-in-the-northeast-corridor/
flights NY-DC 1 Hr 15 Minutes $280
Why is it if you owe child support or car taxes they can go after your tax returns, lottery winnings, inheritances or your estate but they can’t get back taxes from property tax deadbeats?
The City should concentrate on doing its job. Keep the schools, police, fire and library running. Collect its property taxes (from everybody). Maintain the roads. The more economic development the city engages in, the less economically developed it gets. Does anyone know if the arena is making or losing money? Did we get paid back for the cost of that? Are the ~6 new restaurants downtown really new restaurants or did they just replace restaurants that were there? I mean, if a Burger King closes and a McDonald opens, that is not a new restaurant. Just a different one.
Hopefully this will also mean the Seaview Ave train bridge will be raised. If trucks can’t get through, neither will economic development.
In 2013, Remington Arms did not represent idle capacity for wartime use. I hope everyone took their photographs because I’m glad the wrecking ball is on the scene.
In a related matter, demolishing Remgrit makes it more appealing to replace that bridge.
The main reason for the RR station is Sal DiNardo’s property, the Seaview Ave corridor (read Finch’s comments) and a desperate attempt by Finch to say he is doing something.
This is the Ganim playbook all over again. They will tear buildings down and the only thing you will see rising is weeds.
This what took GE so long. They were hoping the city would take at least a portion of their property as a gateway to Remington Woods, pay them for it, demolish some of the buildings and relieve them of the environmental liability.
The Post should do a full story on the history of this deception in order to put in into context. Start with how this had been a thriving arts colony with Habitat having its warehouse there. What did the City and DiNardo do next?
Kooris is saying it will be built in two years but they have no idea how much it will cost and where the money will come from. If they are counting on the state, they had better get the funding in place in 6-9 months while Malloy is still in office.
If anyone honestly believed in this project and believed it would result in significant economic development, then the city can pay for it with TIF bonds. All they have to do is put together the numbers and try selling the bonds. If Wall Street believes, they will buy up the bonds. If they think it’s a loser they will run like hell. If all these projections are bogus someone could go to jail.
Let the free marketplace decide.
Of course in Bridgeport, free market means if it is Uncle Sal it ought to be free.
Sal is still trying to collect on promises from Joe Ganim when Joe was mayor.
Has anyone ever looked into this DiNardo, Malloy, Stafstrom love triangle?
No answer needed, Thank You.
The Seaview Ave train bridge is not going to be raised, period. It would require the tracks to be raised starting at the present station and ending in Stratford. Also, the road at the bridge would have to be lowered and that would require a massive pumping system into the creek. That act alone would also require State and Federal approval. The total cost and time is just not within reason.
MAGOO makes good points but this is Bridgeport–what does reason have to do with total cost?
*** Probably one of the better economic developments this city will see in a long time other than another neighborhood park, no? ***