Business eyes expansion near Greenway

George Schrade wants to expand his Water Street business, A Quick Pick Crane Co., and build a 40,000-square-foot warehouse for large vehicle storage on 14.2 acres off Division Street.

DERBY — The industrial land behind BJ’s Wholesale Club could be seeing some new development.

George Schrade wants to expand his Water Street business, A Quick Pick Crane Co., and build a 40,000-square-foot warehouse for large vehicle storage on 14.2 acres off Division Street. Schrade bought the land from the city for approximately $375,000.

The proposal from Schrade Roosevelt LLC was presented at a virtual public hearing the Planning and Zoning Commission held May 19. Local attorney Dominick Thomas and Shelton engineer Alan Shepard, representing Schrade, spoke on behalf of the proposal.

Thomas said the property already is zoned for industrial use, and is a “perfect fit” for Schrade’s contractor yard expansion, as well as the proposed warehouse that he said would provide storage for other construction businesses to use. Plus, the vacant property will go “back on the city’s tax rolls” providing some welcome revenue.

Shepard said plans call for upgrading the area between the dike and the cul-de-sac, bringing it up to grade to level the site, and prep it for the warehouse building. He said the location will provide for easy navigation of large construction vehicles to turn around.

Thomas said the proposal already has been presented to the Inland Wetlands Commission, and is awaiting a vote next month. The PZC continued its hearing until its next meeting June 16, at which Thomas said a landscaping plan for the site will be presented. Thomas said the site is rather unusual, and has many Army Corps of Engineer easements. He said an arborist is looking at what type of landscaping would be best suited for the parcel.

A few commissioners requested that the parcel be shielded as best it could from the nearby Greenway, and perhaps making the warehouse roof green in color to blend in better.

PZC Chairman Ted Estwan acknowledged the site is “tough,” and any sort of landscaping would be a welcome addition to the industrial parcel.

Carmen DiCenso, the city’s economic development liaison,

said the crane company expansion and warehouse would be an ideal use for the property, which actually comprises 26 acres, of which only 14.2 acres is useable.

“We do think it’s an excellent use of the property. … It’s an industrial park, the soil is compromised and only certain vegetation will grow there, so there’s really not much else you can do there,” DiCenso said. “It’s a very narrow strip of land, and when the city put the parcel out to bid about a year ago, we only had one bidder for the full price.”

The property previously housed Beard Sand and Gravel in the 1980s.