Mayor Joe Ganim and development officials announced on Wednesday the rejuvenation of the vacant AT&T building Downtown into market rate and affordable housing units with renovations beginning the second quarter of this year, according to New York City developer Kiumarz Geula who has secured a $2 million grant from the state for environmental cleanup.
Geula purchased the John Street building in 2021 for $2.5 million. He’s planning 77 artists lofts, 67 market rate and 10 affordable in the initial phases as well as another 60 affordable rate units built on an adjacent parking lot property on Fairfield Avenue. The seven-story AT&T building along the Route 28-8 corridor will house a rooftop restaurant.
Asbestos and underground storage tanks are part of the remediation process. The combined project will run about $45 million.
Geula foresees taxes on the AT&T building rising from the current $47,000 to approximately $165,000 at completion. The parking lot construction will increase from the current $34,000 to about $90,000.
Geula also owns the former Connecticut Post Building at 410 State Street.
Governor Ned Lamont announced last June the awarding of millions of dollars to developers rehabbing contaminated properties, declaring “It makes no sense to have old, polluted, blighted properties sitting vacant for decades when we could be using this land to grow new businesses and create new housing. This state program enables us to partner with municipalities and developers to bring these lifeless properties back from the dead.”
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And he did this all because of Joe Ganim?
Sure he did!
This is right up there with the bogus theaters project. lol
Old news! More election-time, over the top, bs development “news.” Looks like they’re getting things set up to “flip” that property… All of that money to make that site suitable for residential usage is too expensive… They’ll finagle “tax-forgiveness” out of the City and flip the parcel so that a favored developer can raze the structure and use it for a strip mall that will be hailed as a “major downtown retail project” — complete with Dollar Store, liquor store, auto parts store, bargain mattress outlet, and marijuana dispensary…
2024 is looking more and more like 2003….
Come on Jeffrey, raze the building for a strip mall, complete with a Dollar Store, liquor store, auto parts store, bargain mattress outlet, and marijuana dispensary dollar store 🙂
However, I will concede the second phase sounds like political fourplay for the People. Wouldn’t you say 20,000 Shades of Ballots, Hotel Hospitality, Downtown Savior, Gen Now.? 🤣
I mean 60 affordable rate units built on an adjacent parking lot property on Fairfield Avenue. OK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jjSlveHFqk
I hope paint comes with this change building is dated bad
For several weeks, I have been watching construction workers at the AT&T building, and I’ve been wondering what was going on. Now the plan is known. And work is under way.
well i hope they stay on top of it when its done and not let it turn out to be like the Greens