By Josh LaBella
Voice Reporter
It has been six years since the West Haven train station was completed. The city has taken steps to push for development in the surrounding area but the man who led the charge to build it says they could be doing more.
Mike Mercuriano, who started the petition for the train station to be built in West Haven two decades ago, said he wanted the train station because of how useful it would be for the city. He said around the train station are abandoned or semi-abandoned buildings with over one million square feet of potential.
“(Those) will give you high tech manufacturing, warehousing,” said Mercuriano, “just about anything.”
Mercuriano said there needs to be an effort to get the owners of the buildings to sell. He said the city needs to push for development of the buildings.
“The city should have this up on the charts for development,” said Mercuriano, “all around the train station, on a daily basis. This should be a main priority.”
Fred A. Messore, the West Haven commissioner of planning and development, said the city is trying to get developers to the area, and that his main task now is to push for the implementation of the Transient Oriented Development plan.
The plan aims to utilize the space around the train station for mixed use development.
“Now the market and the opportunity are there for that,” said Messore. “I think the Stiles School, and that readapted use, will maybe initiate the whole TOD area.”
The Edgar C. Stiles School is a property owned by the city upon which it received bids for development in January. Messore said that is just one of the ways the city is looking to push for development in the area.
David Killeen, the assistant city planner, said most municipalities that have done well with transit-oriented development have utilized mix-use zoning. He said many allow for apartments on the upper floors of buildings, while having commercial space on the bottom floors. He referenced the Atwood project in Allingtown as an example.
“What they are trying to do is create a village, basically,” said Killeen, “where you have people who have the convenience of living near a train station where they can commute to work, or having their employment near a train station so that they can get there.”
Killeen said part of the rezoning was changing regulations to allow higher density residential living than almost anywhere else in the city. He said the city permits almost 40 units per acre in the TOD.
According to Messore, there seems to be a growing market confidence in the city. He said there was a 57 percent increase in revenue from building permits from the last fiscal year to this one.
Messore said he hopes development of the Stiles School will be the catalyst for further development in the area around the train station.
Jonathan Wharton, a political science professor at Southern Connecticut State University, said he gave a talk on Transient Oriented Development at the University of New Haven two years ago. He said Connecticut is a little bit behind on the concept.
The professor said one issue that could crop up for the West Haven TOD is the “not in my backyard” mantra people can have when it comes to mixed-use development in the area.
“Most people in a town like West Haven prefer singular-use zoning,” said Wharton. “Even in my discussion [at UNH] there was this outcry of concern over [high-density housing.]”
There are many benefits of initiating and carrying through a TOD plan, Wharton said. He pointed out it provides an additional tax base for the city, more commercial space, and, critically, younger people wanting to live in the city.
“That’s really what it’s about,” said Wharton. “Not everybody wants to buy a house or can afford to buy a house in their 20’s and 30’s. So the thought is, ‘Why not have this open to apartments, and have more people who are younger live in West Haven.’ Because that’s a big concern in West Haven, it’s graying.”
Both Messore and Killeen said one of the goals of the TOD was to get younger people to move into the city.
Wharton said he thinks the plan could be transformative in an area which has been so underutilized for so long.
“It is absolutely stunning that it’s remained an eyesore for so long,” said Wharton. “And I think each administration is trying to find pathways of tackling this but it’s a very, difficult topic.”