Thomas Breen photo
Local attorney Ben Trachten and engineer John Gable.
Google Maps photo
To be a restaurant…in February!
Plans to convert a former Westville bank building into a restaurant serving tacos, ceviche, and mixed drinks won a key city sign-off, pushing the project that much closer to its planned completion date next February.
The City Plan Commission granted that unanimous site plan approval Wednesday night for the new restaurant planned for the former First Niagra Bank branch building at 38 Fountain St., during its regular monthly meeting on the second floor of City Hall.
Local attorney Ben Trachten, representing the building’s owners Marc Knight and Robert Bolduc of Central Fountain Group LLC, told commissioners that his clients have gotten all required zoning relief and pulled all relevant building permits for the project. The new restaurant, to be run by star Branford-based chef Arturo Camacho at the former Key Bank at Fountain Street and Central Avenue, should be open in February.
“That soon?” City Plan Commissioner alternate Jonathan Wharton asked in disbelief.
That’s right, Trachten said.
Construction work has already begun at the site.
Wednesday night’s City Plan Commission meeting.
City Deputy Director of Zoning Jenna Montesano noted that the applicants received parking relief for this project from the Board of Zoning Appeals back in 2017. They’ve committed to eliminating an existing curb cut on Fountain Street, she said, and will be keeping the parking in the rear of the building.
The restaurant itself will have 212 seats, six on-site parking spaces, and two bicycle racks.
Comcast Project Gets 5‑Year Extension
Spinnaker VP Frank Caico and attorney James Perito.
Christopher Peak file photo
The former Comcast building on Chapel Street.
Also at Wednesday night’s commission meeting, a Norwalk-based developer received a five-year extension for its plans to convert the former Comcast building on Chapel Street into 200-plus luxury apartments.
Spinnaker Real Estate Vice President Frank Caico and Branford attorney James Perito presented the extension application to the commissioners, arguing that the Norwalk developer needed a few more years to build 166 apartments at 630 Chapel St. and 66 apartments at 673 Chapel St.
That’s because the project was delayed for years by lawsuit after lawsuit filed by PMC Property Group, a Philadelphia-based landlord that owns the Smoothie apartment building right across the street. The city and Spinnaker resolved that legal dispute last year Perito said, and has been working on updating the final design plans for the project since then.
The site plan approvals that Spinnaker last received from the commission for this development in 2014 are set to expire in October, Perito said. Thus the extension request.
Caico said that, though the five-year extension will ultimately give Spinnaker through 2024 to finish the buildings, the developer doesn’t expect that construction will actually take that long.
“We expect to start demolition this fall,” Caico said. And then begin ground-up development in the Spring of 2020, with an anticipated construction timeline of 18 to 24 months.
“So perhaps you’ll be open in 2022?” Westville Alder and City Plan Commissioner Adam Marchand asked.
That’s right, Caico said.
“We’ve been on the same side the whole time,” City Plan Commission Chair Ed Mattison said about the city, the commission, and Spinnaker, “and we’ve been dealing with people who’s delaying tactics infuriated us all.”
Spinnaker is also the developer behind Audubon Square, the new Coliseum project, and a proposed new hotel on Elm Street.
OK - but what about Delaney's?!?