04/01/2007
Developers eye downtown jackpot
Big-Name
firms working on plans for retail, housing site in
BILL CUMMINGS
bcummings@ctpost.com
Another is fronted by former NBA great Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
A third is a major
And the smallest of the four teams competing to build a mix
of stores and apartments on the former Pequonnock Apartments site includes a
West Coast builder that recently completed a mix of stores, apartments, hotel
rooms, movie screens and restaurants in
All four development teams have been selected by the city to offer proposals for the 10 acres that once housed the Pequonnock Apartments public housing complex, near the heart of downtown.
They also represent some of the biggest developers to
express interest in
All four teams have until May 31 to submit detailed proposals for the property. "These teams are just incredible," said Nancy Hadley, the city's economic development director.
"We are now on the radar screen with some sophisticated
people. We have not seen this caliber in
The four development teams selected to submit proposals have impressive resumes. Here are some excerpts:
· The Opus Group, $1.4 billion real estate company that has developed 2,300 projects, totaling 227 million square feet. Opus now has 35 million square feet of development under construction.
Opus' partners include the Richman Group, one of the 20 largest residential property owners in the country; Archstone-Smith, a $19 billion apartment and condo owner with 82,491 units nationwide; and the Staubach Co., owned by Staubach, the former Cowboys star. The company is a premier real estate business with ties to major retail tenants.
· Canyon-Johnson
Urban Funds, fronted by NBA legend Johnson. Canyon-Johnson is the nation's
largest private equity fund with more than $1 billion in capital to invest. The
fund focuses on redeveloping inner cities and has invested in 4,700 housing
units, 2.2 million square feet of commercial space and 1.7 million square feet
of retail space.
Its partners include Vornado Reality Trust, an $18.5
billion owner and manager of real estate, with 60 million square feet of
property in its portfolio; and Mid-City Urban LLC, a leader in affordable
housing, with 20,000 units to its credit.
· TDC Development and Construction Co., which has developed 20 million square feet of residential property and 10 million square feet of commercial property. TDC is partnered with M Squared, which has 30 years of experience in real estate development, acquisition, leasing and operations.
· Urban
Green Equities, the city's downtown developer. The New York-based company is
converting the former Citytrust bank building, former
Arcade Hotel and mall and an old office building on
Initially, five companies responded to a city request for
qualifications. One company, Streetworks LLC, based
in
The selection committee consists of Hadley, George Estrada, the city's public facilities director; Anthony Marone, director of client services for United Illuminating Co.; Michael Skrebutenas, director of planning for the Bridgeport Housing Authority; and Nick Calace, BHA director.
The city is asking the developers to propose a mixed-use project that offers retail stores and apartments on the Pequonnock site. The parcel includes two lots that were the former home of the public housing complex, located in front of the baseball stadium. It also includes a sliver of land in front of the city's sports arena, and a vacant lot on the south side of the railroad tracks which run behind the ballfield.
At least one tower must be a minimum of 10 stories, and final proposals could represent as much as 2 million square feet in new stores and housing. The investment could reach $400 million.
The city, according to a formal request for proposals sent to the developers, wants a "pedestrian-friendly" atmosphere in which visitors and tenants stroll walkways, move in and out of ground-level stores, eat in restaurants and linger in public spaces sprinkled among the buildings and high-rise towers. All of this is to be built next to the city's baseball stadium and sports arena. Some parking would be reserved for the sports complexes, and 50 apartments must be offered as public housing in conjunction with the Bridgeport Housing Authority.
Paul Timpanelli, president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, said the developers are impressive.
"It's good to see that caliber of developer expressing
interest in
Timpanelli said work over the last few years to clean up downtown, build the baseball stadium and sports arena, and begin converting old downtown buildings into housing and new stores, is why big developers are now expressing interest in the city.
The Pequonnock project is a joint venture between the city and the BHA, which, along with the federal government, owned the Pequonnock Apartments. That's why 50 units of public housing must be included in the mix.
BHA
will lease 6 acres of the lot and the city will sell the remaining land. A
variety of zoning approvals to allow the proposed density of the development
will be necessary.
At least 400 parking spaces within the new complex must be reserved for overflow parking at the baseball stadium and sports arena. The Pequonnock site is now a vacant lot used for surface parking during events. The old apartments were torn down a number of years ago.
State Rep. Robert Keeley, D-Bridgeport, who also runs the Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District, said he's anxious to see what the four development teams offer.
"They are all pretty high-profile. This is the first project I think is actually going to go. That area going for entertainment is exciting," Keeley said.
A panel of volunteers will review and score the submissions and recommend a winner to the city. The City Council will eventually be asked to approve a development agreement.
The city is still working to take control of a last
remaining parcel on Steel Point along the waterfront. A