Lack of plan irks Rossi as area wallows

On October 14 it will be eight years since the Haven Project was announced with fanfare. A high-end retail outlet mall was planned for the area at lower Elm Street, and would include walkways and a amphitheater for events, as well as ample parking.

In the announcement presser, then Mayor Edward O’Brien heralded the retail development as the needed tax boost the city needed, and a catapult for future development. After the announcement, though, things wallowed.

The developers were headed by Sheldon M. Gordon, who believed the mall would be a boon to the area. Gordon passed away months after the announcement, putting the development group on hold. Then the reconstituted Simon Group was charged with the project.

For the remainder of his term, O’Brien hoped for movement on the project. Many parcels had to be purchased, and a court case held up progress for months and months. Finally, the final purchases were made. The four-block area was designated for demolition and included a century-old building at one end and the former Bilco Company headquarters on the other.

Budgets came out, and hundreds of thousands of dollars were included in “revenue” that never came. Permits were never filed, payments never made. O’Brien left office never seeing any success in the project. One of his biggest frustrations was the lack of progress on the Haven.

Mayor Nancy N. Rossi is finding the same frustration and has been in negotiations with the Simon Group to gain a timeline and plan for the project. As of this week, no plan seems to be forthcoming. Negotiations have been at an impasse.

In and questionnaire sent to Mrs. Rossi this week, she said the Simon Group has asked for more help from the city in demolition of the many homes left vacant for more than four years. The developers are in no hurry, she reported.

“Unfortunately, when the city met with the Haven Group Developers, there wasn’t any sense of urgency on the part of the Haven Group Developers, and they wanted the city to pay for more of the demolition. I told the (them) the city was not going to pay for any additional demolition, it was up to them,” she said. “So, after a few days the Haven Group Developers decided they would pay for the demolition of the buildings.”

In announcing the negotiations with the developers in the spring, Mrs. Rossi said an item on the agenda was the temporary reopening of Water Street to alleviate traffic problems during rush hour. The street has been closed since April of 2020, and traffic pileups along First and Second Avenues have become a daily occurrence.

The mayor related she is taking a strong stance with the developers as applications for permits have been made, but payment for those permits have not. She is ready to take action against them, issuing “blight” violation orders if necessary. As of press time, no payments were made.

“The developer has made application for the demolition permits, but as of Monday, Aug. 15 the developer has not paid for the demolition permits,” she said. “Permits will not be issued until the City receives full payment. If the demolition permits are not issued by close of business Tuesday, I will ask Public Works Commissioner, Tom McCarthy to begin, opening Water Street to the public and the city will issue Blight fines.”

That news will be appreciated by homeowners in the areas around the perimeter of the project area. The fenced off properties have seen little in the way of demolition and were once the refuge of squatters. Several fires took place before the fencing restricted access.

Homeowners are frustrated as the decaying buildings are attracting vermin, but also decreasing their property values with no relief in the form of demolition in sight.

The negative news by Mayor Rossi cannot but serve as fodder for those that believe the project is either doomed or will be transformed into something other than a retail mall. What everyone can agree on, however, is the project, announced with so much happy talk nearly eight years ago, is no closer to being completed.

First announced as the “Water Street Project” in September of 1997 by then-Mayor H. Richard Borer, Jr., the plan called for a rebuilt lower Elm Street and originally stretched from Main Street east toward North Street. The area was given “Enterprise Zone” status, but several attempts at luring developers failed. A large-scale high-end condominium project was one plan, but that was nixed by the administration of Mayor John Picard, in favor of something that would be commercially oriented.

Picard’s administration made several attempts at branding the area, including the “105 Water Street” project that was supposed to be a six-story business tower, with commercial offices. It was to be the anchor for future development.

Negotiations with Gordon and his group began under the Picard administration, and continued under O’Brien with the October 2014 announcement for the “Haven.”