Head of the Harbor moving forward after ‘harmonious’ discussions

NORWALK, Conn. – It took teamwork to finally lift the last of Norwalk’s long-delayed development projects off the ground, Norwalk leaders said Thursday.

The mutually laudatory phrases occurred as Head of the Harbor South LLC managing member Michael F. DiScala and Mayor Harry Rilling signed a stack of papers under the watchful eyes of the press. They said conditions have finally been right for the past several months allowing them to work out the Option to Purchase agreement approved recently by the Common Council, which allows the development to move ahead – way ahead, as Discala said he hoped construction would begin in the spring.

“I would like to thank the mayor and all the various department heads, working very closely together, in harmony, I might add, for the last several months in order to bring this project to where we are today,” Discala said.

“This has been a dream of mine since coming to office and here we are,” Rilling said.

Here’s the synopsis offered in the press release for the occasion:

“The intended project calls for the construction of two structures on the site containing 60  residential units and 6,000 square feet of office space, landscaping, pedestrian sidewalks, a waterfront boardwalk, a public plaza, a gazebo and pedestrian connections between the development site and historic Mill Hill.  In exchange for the public property totaling .5 acres, the developer will bring to the site a minimum of $660,000 of public improvements and provide the city a public easement over Smith Street and 15 on-site parking spaces for the city’s exclusive use, which are to be assigned to the Historic Commission. Under the terms of the agreement, the city also addresses certain improvements to the city-owned retaining wall on Wall Street.

“Under the Agreement, the developer has 90 days from the signing of the agreement to file with the Zoning Commission all applications necessary to complete the project and any required zoning modifications and three months to obtain such approvals from the Zoning Commission. Upon the requisite portion of Smith Street being successfully abandoned, the necessary utility relocation being completed and the developer evidencing their construction financing, the public property will be conveyed.  It is anticipated that the project construction period will be 18 to 20 months from conveyance.”

For more on the project read this story.

“It’s been a long time, but all good things take time,” Discala said. His company was asked in 1988 to begin the redevelopment of Wall Street and redid the trolley barn, he said. But then attention shifted to SoNo for a couple of decades.

“We are pleased with the various projects that are on the approval process, including ours,” Discala said. “We think that the Wall Street area will be a very unique and sought-after product for people to live, work, play. It’s a great area and we also like the synergism that we are creating between ourselves and the historic Mill Hill project, which is a gem for Norwalk and one of the best-kept secrets. Tying these projects together will enhance not only the Mill Hill experience but our project and all of Wall Street. So this project is a win-win for all of Norwalk.”

“This is what I consider to be a great day for the city of Norwalk,” Rilling said.

Discala said the cost of Head of the Harbor South is in the neighborhood of $15 million. Financing is very conventional, he said.

There were no references to spinning plates, as there are in another Wall Street project.

“Banks have actually approached us with interest. We were just waiting for final approval,” Discala said.

Construction should take 18 to 20 months if all goes well, he said.

The holdup for the project involved the design several years ago, but recently it’s been about parking. “That was really the last hurdle,” Discala said.

“We are excited that we have resolved our issues,” Historical Commission Chairman David Westmoreland said. “… The departments really pulled together – DPW, Planning and Zoning and the Redevelopment Agency. We were able to work things out pretty well. Mike Discala has been great from Day One. We met and shared our visions for the properties and found they were in alignment right away. It’s been and will be a good partnership going forward. Like Mike, I would like to thank the mayor for his leadership on getting everybody together and resolving all the issues. It’s been a really good process.”

“I think one of the keys was getting everyone to the table and talking, making sure we had regular meetings and moving everything forward,” Rilling said. “I think that proved rather successful.”

“It did,” Discala said.