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12/19/2016 11:00 PMPlans continue for the future use of the property at 415 Washington Avenue, the former Pratt & Whitney site. In September, North Haven Planning and Zoning approved the site plan and earlier this week, town officials, and project engineers traveled to Hartford to meet with the Department of Transportation and Connecticut Traffic Authority.
“We’re at step two of a three-step project with this step being the most complicated step,” said First Selectman Mike Freda. “The project has been tremendously complicated with a lot of different components to it that need to be finalized. We’re at the stage now where the state is weighing in on the traffic impact on Route 5.”
While the prospective tenant will not be named until the lease agreements are finalized, the plans include parking spaces for 2,500 cars, as well as an overflow lot with up to 750 spaces. There are also 47 tractor trailer docks and parking for 245 tractor trailers in the site plan.
“This is a normal procedure for any project involving a state road,” said Freda. “It involves analysis of the recommendations by the project owner’s engineers on how to accommodate what could be 2,000 to 3,000 jobs.”
Freda noted that during its time of operation, Pratt & Whitney had been the town’s largest employer with about 5,000 employed.
Once the analysis is complete, the state needs to sanction the recommendations. At that point, the town, property owner, and tenant work together on the remaining steps, which will include extending Valley Service Road onto Washington Avenue and finalizing the lease.
“It has been a very time-consuming project, but one that’s extremely important for North Haven,” said Freda. “From the feedback I’ve gotten, people are hopeful we can deliver this project, not only for the job impact, but for the significan tax revenue that can be generated for the town, as well.”