Opponents prevail in self-storage battle

      

        BRIDGEPORT REPORT

     

     By Reginald Johnson 

      BRIDGEPORT ---  A determined effort by local residents to block construction of a 1,000 unit self-storage facility at the old Stop and Shop on Madison Avenue paid off Monday, with the Planning and Zoning Commission rejecting the plan put forth by developer Hugh Scott.

   The panel voted against the proposal 4-2 following a hearing at City Hall attended by more than 30 people, many of them holding up signs expressing opposition to the project.

   Critics said that the self-storage facility was not in keeping with the residential character of the area and they urged that some type of housing be built instead.

  “Put self-storage units somewhere else but not here,” said one resident. “Affordable housing is strongly encouraged.”

  Neighbors in the city’s North End have been fighting the self-storage facility idea since it was first floated earlier this year. A number of scheduled hearings on the proposal were postponed by the developer, triggering more resentment at the project.

 However, Scott ran out of continuances this month and the hearing went forward. Scott maintained that his development would revitalize the site (where the Stop and Shop has sat vacant for 11 years) and self-storage space is badly needed in the Bridgeport area.

                 

North End residents showed up at City Hall Monday to oppose the proposal for a 1,000-unit self-storage facility at the site of the old Stop and Shop on Madison Avenue. The zoning commission voted to reject the plan. (Reginald Johnson photo) 

 

   But the developer got no support for his plan from any residents and city officials also opposed the idea. Thomas Gaudett, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Joseph Ganim, who is running for reelection this year,  testified that while the city is always looking for new development, the administration was against the idea of the self-storage at the Madison Avenue location.

  “We need to do things that are compatible with the neighborhood,” he said, adding that development of housing would be more appropriate.

  Opponents also got support from local city council members, including Michelle Lyons and AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia.

  “This proposal is inconsistent with the surrounding neighborhood,” said Lyons, who strongly urged the development of senior housing, which she said is in short supply.

 Also speaking against the plan were former state representative Chris Caruso and current state representative for the North End, Marcus Brown.

 Gaudett said the city will continue to work with Scott on developing housing at the site, including bringing in state officials to discuss the idea of financial assistance.

 

Protesters slam new housing at Testo's site

     BRIDGEPORT REPORT

     By Reginald Johnson

       BRIDGEPORT --- About 30 people picketed in front of the former Testo’s restaurant on Madison Avenue Sunday demanding that Mayor Joseph Ganim get involved to stop a housing development at the site which residents claim is out of place for the area.

   Under a hot sun the group walked in front of the closed-up restaurant with signs reading  “No to 177 units!” and “Mayor Ganim, Where are You?"

  People driving by honked their horns in approval.

 “We are out here to try and get the mayor to stop this development. It’s going to affect all of us,"  said Bianca, who owns a house on Westfield just across from the former restaurant.  “It’s going to lower the property values for everybody around here and we need our values to stay the way it is,” she added.

 Bianca moved to Bridgeport from New York city three years ago to buy her house and said it was a “rude awakening” when she found out that the restaurant was going to make way for a 177-unit apartment complex.

  “We need our neighborhood to stay a neighborhood,” she said, “and not turn into a commercial area like a city like New York that is overcrowded and overpopulated. We need to have a safe space."

                               

Bianca, who lives on Westfield Avenue, protests the plan for new housing at the former Testo's restaurant. (Reginald Johnson photo)

  Other protesters echoed Bianca’s view, saying that the complex was too big and not fit for the area which is dominated by single-family homes. They complained bitterly that local residents have not been given any say-so in how the development was planned.

  “There’s been no input from the neighborhood,” said one.

                      

North End residents demonstrate against housing at Testo's.

 (Reginald Johnson photo)

  The four-story complex to be constructed by builder John Guedes appears to be a done deal, with zoning approval for the general plan given previously. There don’t seem to be any legal avenues for opponents to block the project.

  However, protesters are hoping that possibly Mayor Ganim, who has remained quiet on the controversial project, will step forward and ask for some modifications to reduce the size of the building.

  “It’s past the Council people.” said Bianca. “The Council already voted on it, so the mayor has to get involved at this point,” she said.

                                          

                                   

Protesters at Testo's. (Reginald Johnson photo)

  The former Testo’s Ristorante at 1775 Madison was a fixture in the North End for decades and also served as a political base for the Democratic Party, with the eatery hosting many fundraisers and election night parties. The restaurant was owned by Mario Testa who was the longtime head of the Democratic Town Committee and a close friend of Ganim. Testa and his relatives closed the restaurant at the end of last year and the apartment plan was announced soon afterwards.

 

Battle over self-storage facility in Bridgeport

 By Reginald Johnson

  BRIDGEPORT REPORT

 

    BRIDGEPORT --- The fight over whether a 900-unit self-storage facility can be placed in the middle of a residential area in the North End may be coming to a head this Monday night at City Hall.

  The Planning and Zoning commission will meet at 6:15 pm in the City Council chambers at City Hall to discuss the application by Simcove LLC requesting a special permit to build the storage facility at the site of the old Stop & Shop, 2600 Madison Avenue.

  Local residents have been working against the proposal for a number of months but have been frustrated because developer Hugh Scott has repeatedly asked for continuances from the zoning commission and hearings have been delayed.

 However, Planning and Zoning Commission Clerk Gloria Blackwell said Scott is not entitled to any further continuances and the hearing will take place on Monday.

  Scott has maintained that the self-storage facility is the best use for the area and self storage is badly needed in the city.

 But local residents feel the facility is out of place in a residential zone and a much better use of the area would be senior housing.

  Amy Marie Vizzo-Paniccia, a councilwoman who represents the neighborhood, said she thinks the storage facility is not the right fit for the area and likes the idea of senior housing.

 But Paniccia said she’s more worried about the commission granting a zone change through the special permit. “If they do this zoning change, it leaves the door open to anything,” she said.

 

The shuttered Stop and Shop supermarket on Madison Avenue. A developer wants to convert the building into 900 self-storage units.

  Michelle Lyons, the other council member from the area, said people are still determined to fight the project, despite the many delays.

 “People are not giving up, they’re actually getting stronger,” she said.

 The battle over the self-storage facility comes at a time when many residents of the North End are feeling anxious about the future of their neighborhood. Nearby Sacred Heart University in Fairfield has been steadily expanding into Bridgeport, building new facilities southward along Park Avenue. Sacred Heart students are renting houses throughout the North End, in some cases generating complaints about noise.

  Local residents are also worried about how a new housing development will turn out at the site of the old Testo’s restaurant at 1775 Madison Avenue. Builder John Guedes is planning to construct 177 units on the site and many people in the area think the project is too intense.

 However, city officials have already given the green light to the plan and at this stage people appear to be resigned to the construction going through but are hoping somehow to modify it and possibly lessen the density.