Center School plan rejected
100-apartment proposal voted down by Town Council
STRATFORD — Officials will go back to the drawing board after a proposal to build more than 100 apartments on property that was once home to Center School was roundly rejected by residents and Town Council members.
The answer to the question of what to do with the roughly 3-acre property in the heart of downtown has proven elusive since the school, which opened in 1970, was decommissioned in 2005 and sat empty until it was demolished in 2018.
The town sought interested developers last year, but only got one response, so officials put out another request for qualifications in August that attracted three firms.
After months of talks, Bedford, N.Y.based Xenolith Partners was unveiled as the town’s preferred developers.
At the Town Council meeting last month, Xenolith presented a plan for the property called “Stratford Walk” that they said was designed to encourage a pedestrian-friendly environment with usable open space that complements the town’s “Complete Streets” plan.
Xenolith’s Andrea Kretchmer and Terri Belkas-Mitchell said they estimated costs at roughly $31 million with the hope that more than 100 apartments could be online in 2024.
As part of the deal, the company asked the town to sell the property for $1 and a partial 17year property tax abatement, with a full abatement during the project’s two-year construction period.
At the Town Council’s monthly meeting Monday, reaction to the proposal from residents and officials was almost universally negative.
A message seeking comment was sent to Xenolith Monday.
Many residents voiced opposition to the $1 sale proposal and requested tax abatements, as well as raising concerns about density, traffic and the lack of mixed uses.
Rachel Rusnak, who started a change.org petition opposed to the development signed by more than 750 people, noted that the proposal failed to include a number of the ideas suggested by residents during planning workshops to brainstorm ideas for the property.
“Accepting this proposal would be a short-sighted and detrimental decision that would wreak havoc on the historic downtown,” she said during the Town Council’s public forum Monday. “That the town is even considering this proposal and brought it before the Town Council for presentation lays bare the complete lack of thoughtful and strategic planning going on in the administration.”
Pam Robertson said she also attended the workshops and was disappointed that more of the public’s ideas weren’t incorporated into the project.
“Given the amount of new and proposed apartment complexes already surrounding the historic district, why do we need another one, especially when it appears to be against public sentiment?” Robertson said.
Tucker Chase said the proposal “ignores the wishes of the town residents completely.”
Marianne “Mitzi” Antezzo, a former Town Council member, questioned whether the coronavirus crisis will result in long-term changes that would make “transit-oriented” developments obsolete as more people work from home.
“I think it’s time to halt any future apartment expansions that are set up mainly for commuters,” she said.
The Town Council’s Kaitlyn Shake, whose District 2 contains the former Center School property, read a statement in which she said she appreciated the developer’s plan to create more affordable housing, but said the proposal “did not take into consideration the ideas and wishes that Stratford and 2nd District residents developed and articulated for the former Center School property, and that’s extremely problematic.”
Every other Town Council member who spoke about the project was opposed to it as well.
The 10th District’s Laura Dancho said she was disappointed by the financing plan as it was proposed and that the proposal only included housing and not a mix of uses.
“We need a creative plan to utilize this space,” she said.
Bill O’Brien, District 9, said there were some positive aspects of the proposal but that selling the property for $1 would be “ridiculous.”
Paul Tavaras, District 3, said the town needs more affordable housing, but with respect to Xenolith’s plan, “the concessions far outweigh any of the benefits.”
Greg Cann, District 5, hoped the town could attract more developers in the future as it explores what to do with the property.
Town Council Chairman Chris Pia said he was “not a fan” of the proposal’s financing and suggested a joint meeting of the council and Redevelopment Agency to get on the same page.
Mayor Laura Hoydick said she and Redevelopment Agency members wanted to bring the proposal forward because “it was really important for the public and for transparency and to the council to get a feeling for where we’re going with this and if this was going to be accepted or not, because why waste more time if nobody liked this plan?”
“I think we heard pretty loudly and clearly that people want us to go back to the drawing board and look at other things and I think that’s exactly what we’ll do,” the mayor said.
Hoydick said Tuesday that no concrete next steps have been planned yet, with officials focused more on maintaining services to residents in a pandemic, but that a meeting between the Town Council and Redevelopment Agency sounded like a good idea.