[Boogiep]

https://m.stamfordadvocate.com/busin...y-13266206.php

A year after it announced an ambitious plan to build a new headquarters in downtown Stamford, Charter Communications says the project is moving ahead. But it is not saying much more at the moment.

The telecommunications giant’s plan calls for construction of a 15-story building on top of an existing parking garage, which stands adjacent to the downtown Metro-North station and is owned by Stamford-based developer Building and Land Technology. The undertaking reflects Charter’s marked growth in recent years and would reshape the city’s office market, which has seen few additions to its building inventory in recent years.

“Construction has begun at the Gateway Harbor Point site, and we expect the project to take approximately two years to complete,” Charter and BLT officials said in a joint statement.

The companies declined to comment further and did not make any officials available for interviews for this article

[Connecticut203]

It's been like 2-3 years that has been sitting there, cant wait to see it finally develop into the charter building

[Connecticut203]

New Stamford housing complex advances Vidal Court redevelopment


https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/loc...photo-16311216

STAMFORD — The latest housing development near the site of the former Vidal Court complex on the West Side is almost full of tenants, which comes as no surprise to Vin Tufo.

"There’s tremendous demand," said Tufo, CEO of Charter Oak Communities, the city's public housing authority.

He said market rate and affordable housing units at the new development, Park 215, have filled up quickly. Only about five units remain, he said.

Most of the apartments — 60 percent — are deemed affordable, which means they are offered to those who make less than 60 percent of the area median income. In Stamford, the AMI is $135,000 for a family of four.

Evonne Klein, commissioner of the state Department of Housing, said affordable housing is in high demand across Connecticut.

"What we know is that every city and town have a demonstrated need for more affordable and multifamily housing," she said Wednesday at a formal dedication ceremony at Park 215.

The new structure, at 215 Stillwater Ave., sits on the former site of Vidal Court, a 1950’s public housing complex comprised of three L-shaped eight-story buildings of 216 units.

The Park 215 development received $7.3 million from the federal government and $1.3 million from the city’s capital funds. Another $2.35 million came from the city’s fee-in-lieu program that allows developers to pay into a fund instead of creating affordable units with new developments.

Allana Kabel, community planning and development director of the Hartford field office for HUD, said about 24 units in the complex have Section 8 voucher subsidies in the amount of $4.8 million for 15 years that can be renewed at the end of the contract.

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn, said the development, as well as Stamford’s creation of affordable housing, is a model for other communities.

"When cities revitalize, you often hear the word gentrification. Our seniors get squeezed out, people who have lived in the community for generations who maybe don’t have great means feel the pressure of increased property values and rents and taxes," he said. "Though it is a struggle each and every day, Stamford is doing it right. Stamford is figuring out ways to make sure…that people who aren’t wealthy can take advantage of the revitalization that is transforming the city."

The complex has a layered affordable housing model, which means that certain units are meant for residents who make less than 25 percent of the AMI, some are for those who make less than 50 percent, and others are for people who make less than 60 percent.

There are one-bedroom apartments offered at 25 percent of median income, at a rental rate of $645. A two-bedroom unit at the 50-percent threshold is offered at $1,400, while a unit at 60 percent is $1,700.

The market rate for one-bedroom apartments at the complex is between $1,685 and $1,975, while the two-bedroom units are between $2,100 and $2,500.

"It’s a very full spectrum that allows the property to have almost a kind of natural diversity," said Tufo, speaking of the range of salary requirements.

Park 215 is a five-story, combined residential and commercial building totaling 136,500 square feet. The ground floor of 21,000 square feet is occupied by the medical facility The Heart Center. The residential portion contains 78 one- and two-bedroom mixed-income apartments.

The building is the fourth structure of the Vidal Court Revitalization effort. The Westwood complex was completed in July 2011, while Palmer Square opened in July 2012. Greenfield, which was opened in 2014, was the first to be located on the former Vidal Court site and is now adjacent to the new Park 215 complex.

Tufo said there is another building planned as part of the revitalization effort, but a site has yet to be identified.

[Connecticut203]

STAMFORD — It’s best described with a two-word rhyme: Tight site.

That’s what state transportation officials had to say about construction of a 960-space train station parking garage on South State Street.

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The eight-story structure must be squeezed into a spot circled by the station, railroad tracks, catenary wires, Washington Boulevard, Interstate 95 and Mill River, Department of Transportation officials told members of the Connecticut Commuter Rail Council Wednesday night.

The meeting at the train station was the first of several DOT officials hope will garner public input as they proceed with the garage design. The next meeting is slated for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Stamford Government Center.

The long-planned replacement for the crumbling original garage on Station Place will be built on a state-owned surface lot at South State Street and Washington Boulevard. It will have a glass-enclosed pedestrian walkway stretching 350 feet across Washington Boulevard to the train station.

The three lowest levels of the garage, as now planned, will be only 30 feet from I-95. They will have a more closed facade than the upper levels to protect from debris that could fly over from the highway, said Jeff Parker, of CHA Consulting, the DOT’s Rocky Hill design firm.

So far, CHA has completed only 10 percent of the design, Parker told commuters.

“What we are presenting now is an illustration of the potential for this garage,” Parker said.

The DOT wants to hear from riders, residents and the owners of property and businesses near the rail station before proceeding with the design, Commissioner Jim Redeker said. The agency has already had half a dozen meetings with city officials, he said.

“We are only at the concept level,” Redeker said. “This is the very beginning of the process. We are working to get feedback before we complete the design.”

Members of the commuter council said they were happy to weigh in early, given the DOT’s last attempt to replace the decrepit garage. In 2013, the DOT partnered with private developers to build a $500 million office, housing, retail and hotel complex on the original garage site and move parking farther away.


Redeker said at the time he could not share much about the plan, which was proprietary because of the involvement of private companies. Angry commuters said the state cared more about earning a profit than providing parking at the station — one of the busiest stops on Metro-North Commuter Railroad, and by far the state’s busiest.

But the DOT’s deal didn’t happen. It died in 2016. The project was then postponed for two years because of a state budget crisis.

Now the agency is moving ahead with $35 million originally set aside for the garage, plus $5 million that was added later and $60 million recently approved by the state Bond Commission.

It will take all $100 million to build it, Redeker said.

The project as envisioned will require re-aligning a portion of South State Street so it runs beneath the garage, with a separate lane for pedestrians and cyclists.

The pedestrian walkway to the station will extend from the fourth floor of the garage, and an elevator will open to Washington Boulevard.

There will be a ground-level covered space for parking 150 bicycles, and a path to the Mill River greenway nearby.

The façade will be screened in aluminum railing to make it look more like a building than a garage, said Parker, who presented two versions.

To move cars more quickly through the garage, only electronic payments will be accepted — no cash.

The agency conducted an extensive traffic study before beginning the preliminary design, Redeker said. It included intersection traffic counts measured by the city, he said.

To improve flow around the station, traffic signals will have to be re-timed and a way must be found to corral the countless shuttle buses that take rail riders to and from the station, many of them run by corporations for their employees.

“The shuttle system is a disaster. It’s just a free-for-all,” Redeker said. “Everybody’s got their own, so there are just too many. They are the cause of much of the traffic congestion.”

The traffic study found that there are nearly 2,500 cars parked near the train station — 1,275 in public spaces and 1,200 in private spaces.

The existing state garage is comprised of the original 1987 structure with 727 spaces that now serves only 200 cars because of its poor condition, Redeker said.

The addition completed in 2004 has 1,200 spaces, but a number of them are blocked off because the structure needs repairs, which are about to get underway, Redeker said.

Members of the commuter council peppered him with questions about the DOT’s plans for the Station Place site after the original garage is demolished. They said they are concerned DOT officials will return to their idea of seeking to build some type of complex that will bring more traffic into the congested area.

Redeker said the DOT has no plans for the site, but all rail station maintenance is funded by parking fees, and that spot is the agency’s most valuable piece of real estate with the potential to generate more lucrative fees.

“The highest and best use of that space is not a parking lot,” Redeker said. “I have to be able to deliver rail service and keep fares stable and operating costs within budget without any money except parking revenue. I can’t do all that if I don’t have the income.”

[Connecticut203]

Renderings of Early Plan for Stamford Station Garage

[allanny13]

Wow, that is a bit more hideous than I imagined.

[StamfordRez]

None of the pictures render for me - any tips?

[TheGrandK-Man]

Originally Posted by StamfordRez

None of the pictures render for me - any tips?

I see no images in post #1604 either. Here is link to article:

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/loc...n-13318758.php

Thing looks hideous.

I understand that you cannot have a new and old garage in the same place at the same time, but this project also moves parking away from the platforms, but not as far away as did the 2013 proposal which residents and commuters both resoundingly kicked to the curb!

So we probably will see either *some* parking on the original garage site, but also mixed use(office/retail/residential or lodging).

[AntonioR]

Personally, I think it will look nice.

I´m taking into account that it will be a garage and garages aren´t known for being wonderful works of arts! If anything, garages tend to look the same everywhere and this one will have a more postmodern look. In a way it reminds me of The New York Times building with that screen on the facade.

[lginlg]

Originally Posted by AntonioR

Personally, I think it will look nice.

I´m taking into account that it will be a garage and garages aren´t known for being wonderful works of arts! If anything, garages tend to look the same everywhere and this one will have a more postmodern look. In a way it reminds me of The New York Times building with that screen on the facade.

Agree totally. In fact, I expected worse.