Plans Announced for Moving Some Downtown Tenants Before Demolition Starts on Corbin Project

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Corbin District Architect Rendering

Image from Baywater Properties

Architect's rendering of what part of the Corbin District will look like.

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Demolition of some buildings in the future Corbin District in downtown Darien is expected to start in March or April, and arrangements have been made to move business tenants, Baywater Properties informed the other stores in an email Thursday morning.

Buildings in the “interior” of the project — away from the Post Road and Corbin Drive, will be the first to go down. Four businesses in those buildings have arranged to move out, David Genovese, principal of Baywater, said in a message sent to town officials and news organizations. Baywater is the lead partner in the Corbin District project.

“We have a plan for each of the existing retail tenants and will be mapping that out with each of them over the next few weeks,” Genovese wrote.

Genovese attached an email sent earlier this morning to tenant stores (full text below), in which he wrote:

BY APRIL: “We have given notice to several of the tenants located on the interior of the project that we plan to demolish their buildings first, along with the garages that line the right side of the driveway, to make way for construction materials storage and parking while we execute Phase One. We hope to take these structures down in March or April.

IN MAY: “We are working hard now to begin the relocation of a drainage culvert that runs behind the gas station and to Old Kings Highway South [east of Corbin Drive] in May. Once that work is complete, we are hoping to begin construction of Phase One.”

Here are the plans for those stores from the interior of the project:

Darien Electric, Darien Shoe, Paws & Reflect — found a new locations in town

Executive Printing of Darien — plans to consolidate operations in the business’s Norwalk office.

“We have a conceptual plan for each of your stores […]. Please be assured that we are going to approach the next few months together in a way that will minimize disruption, and hopeful anxiety, for all of us,” Genovese wrote in the email.

Corbin District Architect Rendering

Image from Baywater Properties

Architect\’s rendering of what part of the Corbin District will look like.

Here’s the Full Text of the Email to Tenants

Good Morning, I hope that the new year is off to a good start for each of you.

I wanted to touch base to provide each of our impacted customers with an update on our redevelopment project for downtown.  We will be scheduling a meeting with each of you over the next two or three weeks to talk about the specifics of our approach to the project and how we would propose to relocate your business into Phase One.

Our plan should provide for almost seamless operations for you, with minimal downtime between locations (ie, the time required for moving racks and inventory).

We have given notice to several of the tenants located on the interior of the project that we plan to demolish their buildings first, along with the garages that line the right side of the driveway, to make way for construction materials storage and parking while we execute Phase One.

We hope to take these structures down in March or April.  We are working hard now to begin the relocation of a drainage culvert that runs behind the gas station and to Old Kings Highway South in May.  Once that work is complete, we are hoping to begin construction of Phase One.

We have hired a talented project manager, who is also a Darien resident, Kate Perez, and she will be spearheading the construction efforts on behalf of Baywater.

I will continue to work with each of you and the new tenants engaged with us to ensure that The Corbin District is the best shopping area in Connecticut upon completion!  We are off to a very encouraging start with new tenants that will drive more foot traffic to the downtown shopping area, and toward your businesses.

We have a conceptual plan for each of your stores, and we have worked out a plan for Spiro and Paws & Reflect to relocate.  We have learned over the years that the rumor mill here in Darien can get whipped up pretty quickly, and I wanted you to hear from me, directly, what is going on.

We understand that this is a stressful time for you and your team members.  Please be assured that we are going to approach the next few months together in a way that will minimize disruption, and hopeful anxiety, for all of us.

Lisa will be reaching out to you over the next day to set up meetings with us.  Never hesitate to reach out to me directly if you have any questions.  You can call me any time on my mobile number.

Sincerely,

David

R. David Genovese
Baywater Properties

Editor’s note: This article originally was published at 11;56 a.m. The time stamp was changed for layout of the Darienite.com newsletter.

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