The application for a permit to demolish several properties encompassing the current locations of Westport Florists, DeRosa’s Restaurant and the Riverside Barber Shop—grouped together on the application as 553 Riverside Ave.—is under review by various town departments including the Historic District Commission at its April 14 meeting. The property, owned by Hamilton Development, LLC, will be part of a Saugatuck Center development project approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission last year. The approved plan calls for a mix of retail space and residences. An application to demolish 570 Riverside Ave., present home of Doc’s Cafe, and 580 Riverside were filed earlier as part of the project and were WestportNow Teardown(s) of the Day on Jan. 7, 2009, and March 12, 2007. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
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Slow, but it is moving forward. Good. This will be a nice redevelopment for the area.
But I have some concerns about the area moving forward. The Bridge Market is closed and so is Conties.
A market must be in the area to enable the new residents to shop in the area. If not they hop in their car and drive. Not smart growth.
From the beginning I said Conties would be the next logical spot to build another condo, but we first must see how this first one works for the community. So P&Z;hold the line. (FYI, there is a cap of 2 projects of this nature in the area and 2 have been approved, but the cap is just a word on paper.)
What could go at Conties? Not the Y, but how about the new Saugatuck fire house being discussed. Would it work there? Discussion bait. Better than on the park land down the road heading towards the Post Road.
Matthew,
What we really need there is another bank or two.
No, what is needed for this location is a Home Depot.
Sadly, with each successive tear-down a piece of the character of a neighborhood is removed. And again and again until it is no longer recognised as a unique area that brought people here to begin with. Why did you move to Westport?
Repeatedly I hear comments that the town is not what it used to be, so add one more for the memory books. Soon this will be as sanitized a town as any planned community, all we will need are gates at the entrance.
uhhh, where is Derosa’s going???????????
THAT is going to hurt, hope-pray-demand that they remain in town.
I don’t know if I fall into the camp of “Westport is soooo different from what it used to be” (please advise the date you are using as your “used to be” reference)but this just hurts me
Wake up guys pretty soon we will not have to move to stamford to be in stamford. stamford will be here!
Pretty soon Westport is going to look like Anywhere, USA. Another slap to the local merchant and community at large.
During the last snow storm I had to drive out for some food. As soon as I crossed the city line I saw Norwalk residents walking to and from neighborhood grocery stores. Many of the stores are ethnic—Polish, Mexican, Chinese, etc.—but all have the staples folks need to cook. Back in Westport everyone who needed to get provisions was driving. No one was walking. With the (long ago) demise of Peter’s Bridge Market and recent Shaws, Westport has been transformed into an entity more like Darien with its dependence on the Post Road strip mall than the distinct neighborhoods it had fairly recently. This is a BIG change.
This is such a shame! I would hope some town agency would recognize the significance of such a unique property and its importance to the charm and character of Saugatuck.
The block contains some thriving businesses that add to our enjoyment of living here—all being tossed to benefit someone’s greed. It would appear that there are some who haven’t learned from recent events.
If we could figure out who is behind this, I would enjoy no longer doing business with them—folks like this, IMHO, don’t need to be encouraged!
There are not many words to describe the sadness I feel every single time a “tear down” is advertised for all to see. Nonetheless, this is the town my mother, me and now my children are growing up in…has it changed? Without a doubt. Even though practically every store on Main Street is a mall variety in one shape or another and even though the houses being built keep getting bigger and bigger once I go to Old Mill beach, Compo or Burying Hill I can still remember how it used to be when I was lazing around on those summer days without too much difficulty I might add….
Joel, it is L.H. Gault.
While past performance is no guarantee of future results, Gault has been a good neighbor to Saugatuck, and from what I know of their plans, it seems like a good project. During the initial discussions, I believe that most of the busineses affected were told of the migration plans so that they had an opportunity to stay or return. This was not a surprise to them. Has anyone talked with either of the business owners recently to see how they’ve been treated?