By James Lomuscio
The highly touted Elm Street land swap that would have netted the town nine additional parking spaces and have been a boon to the downtown and the Bedford Square project was scrapped last week for economic reasons, developer David Waldman said today.
Under the scrapped plan, this building housing the Villa Del Sol Restaurant at 35 Elm St. would have been razed and swapped for part of the town-owned parking lot across the street. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
“The economics just didn’t work for me, and as a developer I had to let it go,” said Waldman, principal of David Adam Realty who is heading up the nearby Bedford Square Project.
Waldman’s plan to put up a $7 million building on a piece of the town’s Baldwin Parking Lot at 36 Elm St. in exchange for property he had an option to buy at 35 Elm St. across the road had been supported by First Selectman Jim Marpe.
Pitched as the last leg in the revitalization of the downtown, the planned land swap received a positive report from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) at its Sept. 29 meeting. (See WestportNow Sept. 29, 2016)
Waldman said the Board of Finance, which had to approve the transaction, needed assurances that the exchange would benefit the town financially.
“There were just so many pieces of pie to go around, and I ran out of pie,” he said. “There was me, the town, the owner of the building and a tenant with a long-term lease.”
The proposal included Waldman buying the Villa Del Sol building and property totaling .15449-acres at 36 Elm St., on which he had an option, for $6 million, including buying out the restaurant’s lease.
He planned to raze the building, making the area it into a parking lot. That lot was to be traded for a .15395-acre town parcel across the road at 35 Elm St. There, he had hoped to construct a two-story building for retail and residential tenants, with one of the apartments being affordable.
Waldman said today that he gave up his option on the building and took down the sign announcing the project.
Waldman and partners also own the historic Kemper-Gunn House, which was relocated to the town-owned Baldwin lot on Elm Street three years ago and is now leased to Serena & Lily.
Waldman tapped Serena & Lilly to outfit the model apartment at the Bedford Square development, which is scheduled to open in April.
