It opened as a jai alai fronton, transitioned to a greyhound racing track, then conversion into an off-track parimutuel betting facility. Now 16 acres along the Pequonnock River on Kossuth Street, sandwiched by Downtown and East Side, could be poised for a housing, retail, entertainment and walkway destination, according Robert Christoph Jr., developer of the nearby Steelpointe Harbor, who has partnered with the new owner of the property.
Meanwhile, Bridgeport-based developer Anthony Stewart has plans to revitalize the city-owned adjacent former AGI Rubber Company Factory into an affordable housing complex with a restaurant, a project that cannot advance without cleanup of contaminants and flood control measures.
Stewart tells the Connecticut Post’s Brian Lockhart “We’re serving different parts of the (housing) market. They’d serve a more high end than what I serve. But I think both ends of the market need to be served.”
From Lockhart:
Citing confidentiality agreements, Christoph said he could not talk too much about any plans for the former Shoreline Star and its 16-plus acres.
“It’s a major piece of property in the area,” he said. “I’ve thought highly about it for years and am excited to, hopefully, have an opportunity one day to develop that property.”
Christoph noted the close proximity to Steelpointe and the potential “synergies” as well as the location near the downtown and the train and bus station there.
Shoreline Star was previously the location of a jai alai fronton and a greyhound track. The former owners–the Zeff family–put it on the market in fall 2020, and the off-track operation closed in September 2021.
According to the new citywide zoning map that went into effect last January, the property is designated as “downtown edge” and intended for single or mixed-use buildings “with mainly offices, residences and other commercial uses.”
Full story here.
It was earlier this year that Steelpointe Harbor’s developers got a long term tax break on their existing property. They’re taxbreak ready and have mega millions from a bond offering — I hope they’re shovel ready too.
Now they want to update a fifty year old building and develop its sixteen acres. I sense another taxbreak request and a City Council anxious to accept their terms.
Here’s the juicy stuff: the biggest Steelpointe story is invisible, underground and never mentioned here.
(wink)