New Haven Independent

Posted by: B | November 2, 2007 11:48 AM

This is a terrible misuse of waterfront property.
Colony should find property elsewhere.
This is also strictly against the river street redevelopment plan. Looks at the limits of use that the city has laid out for this property. A commercial trucking business violates at least 3 of them.
Why can't the city stick to their guns for once.
?

Posted by: Kevin | November 2, 2007 3:22 PM

This is awful. I remember Mike Piscitelli and Roland Lemar coming to a community meeting about 5 years ago, when they were both in City Planning, and they told us how great this would be and we all bought into the plan. Looks like as they moved out of plannng, the plans revert back to old-style thinking. Those two were innovative thinkers, I thought Ms. Bonnano was too. Hey Roland and Mike, can you get these guys back on track?

Posted by: Chrissy Bonanno | November 2, 2007 4:59 PM

Hey Allan--
Thanks for covering the meeting. Last night was part of an ongoing outreach plan into the community surrounding the River Street MDP. The community was a part of the creation of the MDP--a plan that accurately reflects the city's commitment to job growth and public improvement along the waterfront. When exciting things happen, like negotiations with a local business to relocate to River Street, we want the community to hear about it first.

With that in mind, I should note that I do not recall using the word "sacrifice" in my explanation of the possible changes to the River Street MDP. I would not categorize the City's efforts to bring 200 well-paying jobs with benefits to Fair Haven as a sacrifice. To the contrary, by amending the plan to exclude the proposed extension of Blatchley Avenue, a quality employer with a track record of growth and economic stability will come to the neighborhood, employ local residents and provide for additional amenities approved in the plan to make up for the change. As you noted, the relocation of Colony Hardware to the River Street MDP would not affect any of the other public improvement plans, most notably the uninterrupted greenway connection from Criscuolo Park to Front Street Park--the key aspect to regaining access to the waterfront.

River Street is a success story of the City working with the community to create a plan to attract private investment. Job creation has always been a cornerstone of the plan. Not one person at the meeting last night expressed any reservation of the possible project changes. Continued communication with the neighborhood, local business owners and community activists will ensure that those who have a stake in the future of River Street, stay informed.

Posted by: Wait a second | November 2, 2007 5:37 PM

I think someone missed something here in the comments.

While Colony Hardware should be required to build an attractive building, they are not a commercial trucking operation. I think you are confusing them with a separate port operation. Colony Hardware provides hardware to construction sites throughout the northeast. Basically contractors place orders and they are delivered (in vans and small trucks) or the contractors come to Colony and make purchases of things like power tools, ladders, etc.

There are not large trucks (or even small ones) coming in and out of Colony all day. They make deliveries in the morning to construction sites, and they take some deliveries during the day, but not more than Lynn Ladders or Phoenix Press (which have been on River Street for a long time). Like other River Street businesses, the jobs will be accessible to people in the neighboring community.

It is a longtime New Haven operation which has been growing for the last 10 years.

This is completely consistent with the kinds of businesses that the city has tried to bring into River Street (as well as many that are already there). It is also environmentally friendly (they don't make stuff, they just sell it), and a sizable taxpayer.

That all being said, Colony should be required to build an attractive building with a brick facade to match the neighborhood. And they have the knowledge, design professionals on staff, and connections in the construction industry to do so cheaper than lots of other businesses.

So welcome to the neighborhood but let's be sure the building is attractive and designed in such a way to improve the street scape. Definitely not a building set way back from the street with a big fence around it and a parking lot in the front yard.

Posted by: Seriously? | November 2, 2007 5:59 PM

This is the most critical piece of property for the river street development.
Putting a commercial trucking business in this location will squash any thought of a desirable trail.
I can't believe that everyone on the economic development team supports this idea...there's too many intelligent minds on this committee to let this happen.
Why would a trucking business want to be so removed from the highway anyways?

Posted by: Esbe | November 2, 2007 6:48 PM

100 jobs are worth a slight detour to get to the water. And is this a "trucking company", as "B" claims, or a factory-and-warehouse, as the article says? The whole idea is that area is supposed to be light manufacturing, a tough call for urban areas these days. We can hardly afford to drive such companies out of town.

Posted by: Bad idea. | November 2, 2007 6:53 PM

City hall should should have a look at section 5 of the River Street Redevelopment Plan in regards to reuse Parcels A-G.
I believe the property in Question is "e" and "f".

"The Following uses are expressly prohibited:
Storage of commercial vehicles, Storage yards, Terminals for shipping."

Colony Hardware is a commercial trucking company that delivers tools to jobsites.
There will be a large fence around this property to protect their vehicles at night and all water views and access will inevitably be blocked.

100 Jobs is great, but they need to pick another building. Why not put them in the bigelow boiler building next door and restrict truck storage to another lot.

River street is one of the first daring and creative ideas that the DeStefano admin has had in recent years and they're about to squash it.

Colony is a great business, but there's plenty of room for them elsewhere in the city.

Posted by: concrenedwestvilleres | November 4, 2007 8:34 PM

I agree with Ms. Bonanno that the key to revitalization is the neighborhood working with the city to attract private investment. A company such as Colony Hardware can bring 100-200 jobs to the River Street Area. Those 100-200 jobs would revitalize businesses in the areas as workers would most likely spend some of their money in the neighborhood and you could see new businesses building. Also, I would hope that Colony would seek to hire residents of the area and the poorer city residents who need a break to pull themselves up. Projects such as this can be great for a community. However, if the jobs are given to those who aren't from the area, you have a nice company and a neighborhood still filled with people looking for work.

I hope that Ms. Murphy and Ms. Bonanno continue to find projects that will help revitalize New Haven. New Haven will not be a city based upon retail, but light manufacturing and arts and dining can make New Haven a much better city.

Keep up the good work.