New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Downtown market planned for Wall Street
Developer envisions blend of old and new
MADISON — Yet another new business may soon be coming to Wall Street, which is becoming an increasingly busy downtown thoroughfare.
However, this new building may look like a throwback to another era when this local developer is done.
Since purchasing land to the south of Moxie in November, the idea of opening a market has been percolating and Bill Plunkett, local builder and owner of Plunkett Holdings LLC, is ready to move forward if the right individuals step forward to manage the establishment.
“A good, viable, clean, well-stocked, well-organized place to get sandwiches, produce, maybe some baked goods, in a really interesting, fun, cool setting,” Plunkett said in an interview with Hearst Connecticut Media.
The market would offer sandwiches, salads, some locally grown produce, baked goods and outdoor seating, Plunkett said.
This is an idea Town Planner David Anderson thinks would be a good addition to Wall Street.
“I think, in general, that market concept is something that a lot of people have talked to me about it being desirable,” Anderson said.
“I think it definitely could be an appropriate use of that site,” he said.
Anderson said Wall Street is an important part of the downtown area.
“It’s always been conceived of as part of what is termed the superblock of Main Street, Boston Post Road, Wall Street and Bradley Road,” he said. “So, I think it’s always been conceived as an integral part of our downtown, even though some people only think of the downtown as Boston Post Road.”
Plunkett’s other local projects include Scotland Avenue’s French bistro, Bar Bouchee, which opened in 2010; Wall Street’s Moxie restaurant, opened in late 2014; and conversion of the historic The Black House at 875 Boston Post Road into luxury condominiums. All of these developments used the existing structures in their reconstruction, with new elements added in.
The most recent plan includes building a oneand-a-half-story, 4,000square-foot barn-like structure, with an open floor plan, tall ceilings and storefront windows. There will be parking available. It would be located on the vacant .82-acre parcel next to Moxie.
“A mix of old and new things,” he said. “Clean, modern kind of look, esthetic.”
He said he is committed to designing the building to fit into the neighborhood, which still has a number of historic homes.
“The idea is that there are a lot of houses up and down that street,” he said. “A lot of them are old, and in the day somewhere on the street would have been a barn, for cattle, or whatever. Not every lot is a house.
“So, the idea is to make this an adjunct to Moxie, for example, where it looks like this barn could have belonged to Moxie.”
Plunkett is hopeful the plan will work and Madison will soon have a downtown market.
“Locally sourced products, if you can, in a nice atmosphere,” Plunkett said. “It will have a small produce section. It will rotate fairly frequently.
“The mistake with this kind of thing is to try to be everything to everybody,” he said. “Like Moxie, I’m trying to fill a niche that doesn’t exist in this town.”