Palmer TV79 Redevelopment Meeting

VIDEO: Watch the Full Presentations of the Downtown, Noroton Heights Redevelopment Proposals

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You can now watch the presentations on the redevelopment proposals for large parts of downtown Darien and the Noroton Heights shopping district on TV79 online and on cable television. TV79 announced the availability of the videos Thursday morning. The on-demand Vimeo version is on this Web page. The video shows the full special meeting of the Planning & Zoning Commission, which met jointly with the Architectural Review Board. The meeting lasted just over 2 1/2 hours.

Statement by David Genovese on His Post Rd/Corbin Dr Redevelopment Project

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This is the statement David Genovese, CEO of Baywater Properties, gave before the Planning & Zoning Commission and Architectural Review Board on Tuesday before describing his development proposal (main article here) for the area bounded by the Post Road, Corbin Drive and Interstate 95. Eight highlights from his remarks:

“Our goal for tonight, however, is a simple one.  We want to start a dialogue with you and the people of Darien, and we want to get your feedback on our ideas for what we believe is a catalyst for taking downtown Darien to the next level.” “When I started working with a group of volunteers on the Darien Revitalization effort in 2003 with the objective improving downtown, we would hear often from residential brokers in Darien about how they would avoid driving through downtown when touring homes with potential homebuyers who were considering Darien as well as New Canaan.” “We will be looking at creating affordable units for sale and/or for rent, and we are also researching the possibility of creating a building which could provide supportive housing for adults with special needs.” “The demographic trends in Darien are incredible, but unsustainable.  Between 1990 and 2010, the population of the town increased by something like 5 percent, while the school age population increased by 80 percent.”

Brewer Genovese July 21 2015

Two BIG Proposed Projects Would Change the Face of Downtown, Noroton Heights

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Downtown Darien and the business district of Noroton Heights would be massively changed with proposed redevelopment projects of a type not seen since the highway was built through town, according to descriptions presented Tuesday by the owners. David Genovese, principal with Baywater Properties, which already owns a large part of downtown, and his architects described how the block between Corbin Drive, the Post Road and Interstate 95 would be torn down and replaced with somewhat more retail space, new apartment buildings and a five-floor office building. _____________________________________

See also:

TV79 video of the entire meeting
David Genovese’s entire statement to the Planning & Zoning Commission and Architectural Review Board
Picture galleries for each proposal presented below. _____________________________________

Greg Palmer, an owner of Palmer’s Market and the Noroton Heights Shopping Center, described how the present shopping center (at the west end of the commercial district) would be replaced with multi-story buildings containing stores on the ground floors, more apartments above and some underground parking. Teams for both property owners gave the first description of their development ideas at a special joint meeting of the town Planning & Zoning Commission and the Architectural Review Board on Tuesday in a jam-packed Town Hall room.