“This is yet another illustration that developers are choosing Bridgeport to build their projects, creating jobs and building our tax base and our future. We see it in Steelpointe Harbor. We are seeing it in Downtown North, in the Hollow, in Black Rock and in all our city neighborhoods. This is an exciting time for the Park City, and we need to build on this momentum.”—Mayor Bill Finch
Bridgeport, Conn (July 8, 2015) – A Westport developer is eying a $57 million project that would build 1,200 apartments, restaurants, a waterfront promenade and 205 slip marina in the city’s South End.
“This is yet another illustration that developers are choosing Bridgeport to build their projects, creating jobs and building our tax base and our future,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “We are see seeing it happen in Steelpointe Harbor. We are seeing it in Downtown North, in the Hollow, in Black Rock and in all our city neighborhoods. This is an exciting time for the Park City, and we are building on this momentum.”
The initial phase of the project would include 200 market rate apartments and one retail building at the former Remington Shaver factory at 60 Main St.
“This is a market establishing project,” said David Kooris, the city’s economic development chief. “There are no ‘comps’ in Western Fairfield County. There are no projects of this scale and ambition in Milford, Stratford, Fairfield or Westport. The closed comparables are in Stamford.”
The developer and property owner Westport Property Management has received necessary city approvals and $2 million from the state, which should fund the majority of the cost of environmental remediation at the former factory.
Kooris estimated the project’s first phase, realistically, could be complete in about three years.
Stephen Grathwohl, the principal of Westport Property Management, views 60 Main as “the best or one of the best development sites in Fairfield County.”
“It’s right on the water, its right next to Seaside Park, it’s directly adjacent to the University of Bridgeport, it’s within walking distance to the train station and there’s easy access to the highway,” he said. “It’s got a lot of pluses that you can’t find in a lot of sites.”
“We’re very excited and hope to get the project started soon.”
The site at 60 Main St. is the latest in a series of major developments proposed or underway in Bridgeport.
At Steelpointe, a Bass Pro Shop, Starbucks and a Chipotle restaurant are under construction and scheduled to open this year.
Once complete, Steelpointe Harbor will serve as a 2-million-square foot super regional waterfront destination located adjacent to I-95 in Bridgeport Conn. Spanning 82 acres, the project will feature more than 750,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment, a 12-screen premium theater, two hotels, 1,100 mid-and-high rise residential units, 30,000 square feet of office and a 200-slip full-service, deep-water marina.
In the Hollow, a developer recently completed a $5 million project that converted a 42,100-square-foot run down building into 39 new eco-friendly apartments.
In the East End, Bridgeport Neighborhood Trust is building the Milestone Apartments, which will house a much-needed Early Childhood Education Center on the first floor and 30 new apartments that will provide affordable housing on the second and third floors. One third of the apartments will be reserved for veterans returning who are coming home after defending our country.
In Black Rock, construction is underway construction is underway on 56 new market-rate apartments.
And in Downtown North, three major development projects are underway that will create well over 150 new apartments as well as new retail and commercial space.
“It’s contagious. There is so much that is going on in Bridgeport.” Mayor Finch said, including a new project that will place thousands of solar panels and a new fuel cell that will power an additional 5,000 homes with clean and renewable energy.
“We’re creating jobs and new parks and a growing tax base that is making Bridgeport a place where people chose to raise their kids and grandkids.”