One other development team, which included a firm owned by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, also competed for the right to redevelop the Pequonnock site.

"Today is a great day for the city and its residents," Fabrizi said as he announced the selection from the steps of City Hall Annex.

Nick Calace, executive director of the
Housing Authority for the City of
Bridgeport, shakes hands with
Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi
during the press conference for a $221 million development near Harbor Yard.
(Brian A. Pounds/Connecticut Post) .

The development team includes Mid-City Urban LLC, Vornado Realty Trust and Crescent Hotels and Resorts. All of the firms are nationally known and have built millions of square feet of retail space, hundreds of hotel rooms and thousands of apartments.

The team plans to seek permission from the General Assembly for $12 million in tax incremental financing. That money, drawn from diverting new taxes generated from the development, will help cover the cost of infrastructure and parking facilities. Another $12 million in federal low-income housing tax credits, which are allocated by the state, would also be sought to round out public funding of the venture.

The $221 million project would wrap around the Harbor Yard baseball stadium and arena, creating a new community of shops, apartments, hotel rooms and entertainment venues, such as restaurants and movie screens.

"We plan to tie into the stadiums and create an active place for people to be. An important part of the design is creating a Main Street feel," said Michael Berfield, senior property manager for Vornado Realty.

The targeted property is jointly owned by the city and the Bridgeport Housing Authority. Along with for-sale and market rate rental apartments, the BHA would manage 50 units of public housing and 40 units of affordable housing for families in the complex.

Other components include a five-screen cinema; 260,000 square feet of retail space; 376 townhouses and apartments; an 11-story, 155-room hotel, and more than 2,000 new parking spaces.

The developers said two large stores would anchor part of the project, while smaller shops would be built on another parcel. Townhouses are planned for vacant land behind the ballpark, on the south side of the railroad tracks that cross through the area. Rental units would be scattered throughout different portions of the multi-building complex.

The venture is expected to create 718 permanent jobs and 1,792 construction workers will build the complex. Some $36 million in new taxes would be generated over a 15-year period.

The development is expected to take about six years to complete, the developers said. A first phase, involving the hotel, multi-family housing and retail stores, would begin in 2009. The final phase, centering on condominiums and the cinema, would be completed in 2012.

"This is a first-class team," said Jack McGregor, one of the original owners of the Bridgeport Bluefish minor league baseball team.

"This is what we envisioned when we started the ball team," he said.

Developers said the mixed-use community would reflect the Victorian, industrial and colonial styles of Bridgeport's past while creating a new gateway to downtown. New streetscapes, public areas and walkways would be included.

Rooftops would be planted with shrubs and bushes, while construction designs use the latest "green" technology. Rainwater would be reused for irrigation and water features, such as fountains.

From left; Vicki S. Davis, president of developer Mid-City Urban LLC, Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi, and Mid-City project manager James Cox unveil the plans for the proposed $221 million development in a press conference at Bridgeport City Hall Annex.
(Brian A. Pounds/Connecticut Post)

Bill Cummings, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6230.