Shelton developer eyes turning land into storage site

SHELTON — A vacant Platt Road site could soon be the answer for contractors searching for a location to store equipment off their own property.

John “Bud” Mandanici, owner of 79 Platt Road, LLC, has applied with the Planning and Zoning Commission for a zone change and special exception allowing construction of three separate buildings at 79 Platt Road — one in front for limited retail use and two buildings in the rear for private contractor storage and equipment bays.

The commission closed the public hearing on the application Wednesday. Commission discussion and a decision will come at a future meeting.

“Because there are no or few locations like this to store contractor equipment, a lot of them choose to store at their homes, which creates issues with violations,” said Christopher Russo, the attorney representing 79 Platt Road, LLC.

“This project hopefully will relieve some of that pressure for those who want a place to store equipment and not use their own property. That’s why we are here,” Russo added.

Mandanici has been a contractor for decades and lives in the city, Russo said, so he understands the need, which is why he brought forth the proposal.

The plan calls for changing the zone covering the site to IA-2, and the construction plans call for three separate buildings meant for contractor use.

Russo said there would be a 6,750-square-foot building running parallel to Platt Road which would be used for limited retail use, presumably by contractors using the rear storage buildings. Russo said the front building would have 12 parking spaces in front for that use and would act as screening for the rear of the site.

The two rear buildings would each be 4,800 square feet and be used for private contractor storage and equipment bays.