With Permission
The Atlantic Wharf residential and retail complex in the heart of Branford is another step closer to reality now that the a court appeals process has ended. A permit to demolish the crumbling Atlantic Wire building may be the next step.
The option for further appeals was denied earlier this month by the state’s Appellate Court. The Costanzo family, of 33 Wilford Ave., initially filed an appeal in February 2016 in New Haven state Superior Court to reverse the decision of the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission regarding approval of Atlantic Wharf. That appeal was dismissed in January 2017 by Superior Court Judge Angela Robinson who issued a 13-page decision. The judge said that “the substantial evidence” in the record “does not support any of the plaintiff’s three claims raised on appeal.”
The Costanzo family, who live near the project site, then filed a petition for certification with the Appellate Court seeking permission to appeal the lower court’s ruling. On April 13, that request was denied.
Attorney Chris J. Smith, of Shipman & Goodwin in Hartford, who represented the developer in the case, told the Eagle this week that the appeal process is final and nothing further can be filed. Meanwhile, a demolition permit sought at the end of March for the Atlantic Wire factory is still pending.
A Long Voyage
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Plans for Atlantic Wharf, formerly Atlantic Wire, were initially discussed during an informal presentation at a P&Z meeting in the summer of 2014. The commission approved the request for a Planned Development District in February 2015.
Site plans were later submitted and were unanimously approved by P&Z in January 2016. At that time, developer Robert H. Smith Jr., CEO of Milford-based Metro Star Properties LLC, told the Eagle that he hoped to start the project in the summer of 2016. The neighbor’s appeal held up the project for almost year.
Smith could not be reached for additional comment for this article.
Metro Star’s plans call for construction of an upscale apartment complex featuring 203 apartments, plus retail and restaurants. The site is along the Branford River, within walking distance to the Town Center and the Shoreline East Train Station.
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The project would be built on the 7.5 acre property along Meadow Street where the former Atlantic Wire factory is located.
Plans also call for the developers to build a new road through the complex and realign the convoluted intersection of Meadow and Montowese streets and Pine Orchard Road. This is a something the town has been attempting to undertake for several years.
Factory Demolition Permit Pending
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A request for a demolition permit for the Atlantic Wire factory is still pending. The permit was requested by the current property owners, One Church Street LLC. The corporation is comprised of Kevin O’Neill, president of Cherry Hill Glass Co. on Elm Street; and his corporate partners, Jeffrey A. James and Theodore J. Cwiertniewicz .
Branford Building Department Director Anthony Cinicola said the demolition permit is still pending and that additional information is required. He said the 30-day period in which someone could file an objection has ended, and no objections were received.
Demolition permits are typically subject to approvals and clearances by various agencies, including state agencies, and the approval process can be complex depending on the location of the structure. Atlantic Wire is located near train tracks and the Branford River.
Efforts to clean-up industrial contamination at the factory site have been ongoing for several years. The factory declared bankruptcy in 2008 after being charged with federal crimes and state violations for polluting the Branford River. At that time, former Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called Atlantic Wire one of the worst polluters in the state.
Atlantic Wire officials pleaded guilty in December 2008 in U.S. District Court to criminal charges and the owners began an extensive clean-up of the site as part of a deal they made with the state.
O’Neill’s corporation purchased the site in 2010, and have continued with the clean-up efforts.
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