Norwalk leaders invite public comment on mall

NORWALK, Conn. – The “a la carte menu” for the 95/7 site is the topic of a planned public comment Monday – your chance to finally tell Common Council members and Norwalk Redevelopment Agency commissioners face to face what you think of the idea of a mall in SoNo.

“A la carte menu,” a phrase from RDA member Lori Torrano, describes the newly proposed Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) for the Reed Putnam Urban Development Area parcels 1, 2, and 4, a.k.a. 95/7, the “field of flowers” at the intersection of West Avenue and Interstate 95. Members of a Joint Committee met on four Saturday mornings to come up with what RDA Executive Director Tim Sheehan refers to a new matrix.

“What the committee was doing was not eliminating any of the uses but updating them for 2015 based on the reports that we had,” RDA Chairman Felix Serrano said to RDA members Tuesday, elaborating that the committee got updates on reports done as recently as last summer.

The goal was to retain flexibility for the site, Sheehan told RDA members. Therefore, there is a shopping list for a developer; the proposed LDA calls for a developer to choose a minimum of two uses selected from this list:

• 85,000 to 625,000 square feet of Class A office space
• 75,000 to 750,000 square feet of retail space, with a maximum of 10 percent of that going to restaurant uses, and anchors of high quality
• 60 to 350 residential units, with 15 percent affordable.
• 85,000 to 175,000 square feet of hotel space, with at least 150 rooms and upscale facilities

The development also must devote 5 percent of the space to go to public realm, and a committee will determine what is acceptable under that category. It could also have 5,000 to 25,000 square feet of institutional space, which may be used by Norwalk Community College. That would be optional, in addition to the above uses.

The anchors would be “high quality,” a definition in the mall industry. The number of hotel rooms was a topic of debate, but General Growth Properties (GGP) is comfortable with the 150 rooms specified, Sheehan said.

Public comment is invited at 7 p.m. Monday in the City Hall community room. Both the RDA and the Council Planning Committee will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Council chambers to vote to advance the new LDA to the full Council for a vote on March 24.

This is only the first step in the process. Former Zoning Commissioner Ernie Desrochers described the process thusly this week in a letter to the editor:

“Ahead for the developer remains final approval of the amendment to the Land Disposition Agreement, modifications to the Urban Renewal Plan, a full review and evaluation by the Redevelopment Agency, including a required design review by a third-party reviewer, changes to the Building Zone Regulations of the City of Norwalk, and full Site Plan and Coastal Area Management approvals.”

Sheehan said that if GGP, or Norwalk Land Development LLC, wants to go ahead with its plan to build a mall after all of that it will choose retail, hotel, public realm and possibly the institutional use, if an agreement can be worked out with Norwalk Community College.