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07/04/2017 09:00 AMAt the June 8 Board of Selectmen meeting where Amazon was revealed as the end-user for the old Pratt & Whitney site, First Selectman Michael Freda said other economic development projects were in the pipeline. Now, details have emerged about those projects and the effects they could have on the town.
“With the major news of Amazon coming to North Haven, there are many other projects we’ve been working on out of my office that I’m hoping to bring to fruition here very soon,” said Freda.
Assessor Gary Johns said that these projects will have a positive effect in terms of grand list growth, but the town won’t see the full effects of some projects, such as Amazon, right away.
Most recently, a new medical center was formally opened at Devine Street, as previously reported. Freda said plans for a train station at Devine Street are also still underway.
Areas on State Street will also see new tenants and improvements. Freda said he has been working with Matt O’Hare of CBRE/New England, a brokerage group, and Richard Cuomo, a private developer who owns several buildings in town, at 285 State Street. A lease is in place but Freda could not reveal the potential end-user of that location yet.
At 333 State Street, Freda said he hopes to have a formal announcement regarding the New Haven Transit District within the next 60 days. He said that Cuomo has purchased one of the buildings in the rear of the property, which Freda said has been “dilapidated for years,” and renovations are underway.
“We hope to have an announcement on new tenants moving in there later in the year, after the renovation,” Freda said.
Freda said The Hope Group, a hydraulic equipment supply company, will be coming to 350 Sackett Point Road.
A new Range Rover and Jaguar dealership will be coming at the site of the old Munson Motors on the northern side of Washington Avenue “very soon,” according to Freda.
Car dealerships tend to have well-done facilities and higher end personal property, such as the cars and electronic equipment to maintain them, according to Johns. He said that he expects a “nice increase” in the grand list from that property.
New businesses may also be coming to the Stop & Shop plaza on Washington Avenue as well. Freda said he has been working with Dominick Musilli, Stop & Shop’s corporate commercial real estate agent, on filling two vacancies in the plaza: the old Hibachi Grill & Supreme Buffet and the former KFC/Taco Bell building.
“Plans are underway for hopefully an announcement soon on those two vacancies,” Freda said.
Larry Lazaroff, owner of Arnold’s Jewelers and president of the Merchant’s Association at the North Haven Shopping Center plaza, gave an update on that project, saying that he is pleased and excited about the renovations.
He said business in the plaza has increased recently which he credits to the ongoing renovations, and he has been getting “so much interest” from businesses wanting come into the plaza which could potentially include restaurants, a bakery, and a florist.
Expecting the center of town to “explode” with new businesses as a result of the Amazon announcement, Lazaroff said he expects the shopping center to be at 100 percent occupancy once renovations are complete. He added it will benefit the community with new stores to visit and will create several job opportunities.
Both Lazaroff and Freda said they are continuing to work with real estate agent Lou Proto and new owner Joe Moruzzi to fill the vacancies.
Freda said that some of the projects that he mentioned were waiting for the Amazon announcement before moving forward, while others, such as the project on 285 State Street, were in the works before the rumors of Amazon.
He said he’s spent a lot of time working on economic development because it’s the only way to grow top-line revenue at an uncertain time at the state level. At the June 8 Selectmen meeting, Freda said he expected four or five new business to come forward as a result of Amazon, but now he expects that number to be more than four or five.
The goal of the new developments, Freda said, is to grow the grand list with incremental revenue growth, maintain a favorable mill rate, and only spend money on issues that improve the town, such as roads and infrastructure.