A Tide Turns
A waterfront parcel in Waterside where development plans have fizzled in the past seems poised for a new look. Developer Building & Land Technology (BLT) is now targeting 28 Southfield Avenue, where oil was once stored, for an apartment-and-marina hybrid.
After buying the five-acre site last spring for $13 million, BLT will build 167 apartments on the site, which faces its $3.5 billion Harbor Point project across Stamford Harbor.
In an effort to reinvent the struggling Stamford Landing, the office-and-restaurant complex BLT co-owns next-door, the firm will also add 108 apartments there. These will join eighty-eight existing condos. The new two-site complex will be rebranded as Davenport Landing, and is master planned by urban architects Arrowstreet.
As part of the project, BLT will also build a new marina at Davenport Landing that can hold 100 boats in the water and 154 boats on land. Similarly, 220 slips will be installed at the former site of Brewers Yacht Haven, which BLT demolished in 2011. Other plans for Davenport Landing include an expanded boardwalk, and new public access.
In a statement, Carl Kuehner, BLT’s chief executive, says, “Davenport Landing will be a new waterfront destination for all Stamford residents to enjoy, with a mix of complementary uses that enhances the city’s connection to its waterfront while promoting new business opportunities.”
With regard to improved access between Waterside and Harbor Point, Kuehner adds: “By connecting these sites under a cohesive master plan, we can create a better waterfront experience for Stamford residents and make a greater contribution to the city. We are thinking about the entire waterfront, creating an integrated plan that activates both sides of the harbor.”
After Politics, Hope
Real estate developer and former Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia, who stepped down in 2013, is planning to build a fourteen-unit apartment building at 965 Hope Street in Springdale on the site of a two-story office building set back from the road, according to zoning documents. Featuring studios and one-bedrooms, the project, which will also feature a shared rooftop garden and a ground-level store, should break ground this spring, says Pavia, who has owned the current building with partners for decades. This will be the first project for Pavia since he left office.
In 2009, just before Pavia took office, Stamford rezoned Springdale to make it more like a village, more pedestrian friendly and less suburban. Buildings now must be denser and closer to the road, with asphalt tucked behind, as 965 Hope Street proposes. Pavia credits the city with the bold idea to rezone the community. “It was smart planning, really ahead of its time,” he says.
Still, the makeover of Springdale may seem slow to take shape, with just a handful of development proposals since 2009. But a short stroll away, a similar kind of multifamily building, made of brick and hung with shutters, recently opened at 947 Hope Street, where the Fireside Restaurant once stood. David Killeen, an associate city planner, says Pavia’s project may help revitalize Springdale. “A lot of times when you come up with a concept like this, you’re not sure how the market will respond,” he says. “It’s encouraging when you start to see people participating.”
From Kegs to Spring Rolls
Last summer, mainstay Southport Brewing Company served its last lager at 131 Summer Street after a fourteen-year run, but its 4,000-square-foot space won’t be dark for long. This winter, it will welcome Kashi Japanese, a popular Long Island sushi chain, says Jeffrey Kravet, a commercial real estate broker involved with the deal.
But Stamford is hardly going dry, adds Kravet, arguably considered the city’s busiest restaurant matchmaker. Next spring, a new 20,00-square-foot, two-level sports bar from Bobby Valentine, the local baseball icon and restaurateur, will open at 268 Atlantic Street in the former Rack ’n’ Roll space; the bar will feature off-track betting, a Stamford first. Bobby V’s on Main Street will remain open.
Kravet is also currently trying to install a new restaurant at 188 Bedford Street, where Barrique Bistro & Wine Bar was based before closing in the fall. It will serve French cuisine, as per the wishes of Mario Lodato, the landlord, Kravet says, to make sure the block remains internationally diverse.
Kravet expects to see Stamford’s dining and nightlife scene expand further, especially since 3,700 more apartments are slated for development in the area. “Downtown has such a great buzz to it,” he says.