Danbury Shell gas station plans $2.2 million expansion
DANBURY — The owners of a Shell gas station are planning a $2.2 million upgrade that will feature an expanded convenience store and new pumps.
But to do so, the business needs the city to allow the owners to use almost 3,000 square feet of city-owned land on Old Sherman Turnpike for parking. Under the proposed license agreement, the owners of the 101 Newtown Road gas station would pay the city $1,000 a year for the property.
This is part of a series of upgrades at gas stations owned by CPD Properties in the area, said Tom Beecher, the attorney representing the owners. This includes the gas station near Interstate 84's Exit 5, he said.
“They've been doing a program with many of their gas stations to give them facelifts, improve them,” he said.
The project calls for redeveloping the “entire parcel with a new building, new plant and equipment, new site infrastructure, landscaping and lighting,” Beecher wrote in a letter to the mayor. Two full-time and three part-time employees would be added with the expansion.
City Council has formed an ad hoc committee to consider the request for the city to negotiate the agreement.
Mayor Dean Esposito said he has no issues with the request, which has been reviewed by the public works and planning directors.
“It's a pretty small piece of property that the city actually owns that
will enable them to put more parking spots there in the enhancement of that property,” he said.
Under the proposed agreement, the city would be able to terminate the license with 90 days written notice. However, Esposito can't imagine why the city would need to.
“It's almost a useless piece of property to anybody but them,” he said.
CPD Properties has operated the Shell station at the corner of Old Sherman Turnpike and Route 6 for 18 years.
This project would expand the convenience store, a Chestnut Market, by almost 4,700 square feet and add a canopied gas filling area with six new pumps.
“The new exterior design and site aesthetics will nicely complement the much newer looking commercial properties surrounding this parcel,” Beecher wrote.
City zoning regulations require additional parking for this kind of expansion. The Planning Commission must also approve the project.
The property owners already have reached a lease agreement with Connecticut to use stateowned land off of Newtown Road for parking and two driveway accesses into the property, Beecher said. He wasn't sure of the size of the state property or how many parking spaces that would create.
But the business could add seven parking spaces with almost 2,860-squarefeet of city land alongside Old Sherman Turnpike, according to the letter.
“Only parking spaces will be placed on city land,” Beecher wrote. “No other infrastructure above or below-ground will be added to the city property.”
The agreement the owners proposed would last 10 years and automatically renew every decade unless terminated. Any new fees would be determined at the beginning of the renewal period, according to Beecher's letter.
He said the proposed license agreement is “almost exactly” like one approved by the city for property at 34 Mill Plain Road. City Council approved Danbury to enter an agreement with Alpha Professional Building, LLC in September 2019 after the owner realized some existing parking spaces were on city property, according to meeting minutes.
Assuming the city licenses the space, the business would need to meet with the land use department for a preliminary meeting and file a proposal with the Planning Commission, Beecher said.
“So we're a few months away, depending on what the City Council decides to do,” he said.