Westport developer David Waldman said today that he and his team “are evaluating different options” in the wake of last week’s Planning and Zoning defeat of his proposed Riverwalk text amendment.
Relocating the house at Post Road West and Wilton Road is no longer part of developer David Waldman’s plan for the former Ssve the Children site. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
He also said that his plan to relocate the historic building at 1 Wilton Road to widen the problem Post Road intersection “is forever gone since we no longer control the project.”
“We no longer have an option on the house,” Waldman said, adding that he surrendered the option to the property’s owner after the P&Z’s 4 to 3 vote March 3. (See WestportNow March 3, 2016)
P&Z members Alan Hodge, Catherine Walsh, Carolanne Curry and Chairman Chip Stephens opposed the amendment.
“It can be widened if the state wants to come in and condemn the house though eminent domain,” Waldman said, “but it can’t be part of our project.”
The text amendment would have facilitated Waldman’s goal—for which he would have required future site plan approvals—of constructing a residential and office complex on a 2.54-acre site at 54 Wilton Road.
The proposal, which was in the works for two years, includes a two-story, 25,000-square-foot office building plus a 47-foot tall residential building for between 15 to 17 condominiums overlooking the Saugatuck River.
A riverwalk runs along a portion of the west bank of the river, thus the amendment’s name.
The amendment had the support of First Selectman Jim Marpe, who called it the final piece in the redevelopment of the downtown. It also had won the support of historic preservationists.
To sweeten the pie, Waldman’s plan also called for building a pedestrian bridge across the Saugatuck River to Parker Harding Plaza.
—James Lomuscio
