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Map of new plan from Baywater Corbin dec four seventeen

Corbin/Post Road Project Revisions: Measuring How It Shrunk, Reducing the Risk of Technology Changes

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On Tuesday night, David Genovese offered the Planning and Zoning Commission more details than he previously made public about why his plans for the Corbin/Post Road downtown redevelopment project have changed. The public meeting before the full board follows by about a month the developer’s meeting with two members of the commission and officials in the Planning and Zoning Department. In his presentation, he offered some tentative numbers showing how much the square footage of retail, office and residential uses would shrink in the new proposal as compared with the old one, which had been approved (after being amended) by the commission a bit less than a year ago. One of the chief reasons for the change, he said, was the discovery that the site was more difficult and expensive to excavate than had been expected. Test borings found it was rockier than had been known, and it was wet down there.

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Corbin Drive Baywater Corbin proposal Dec four seventeen

Genovese’s Own Explanation of Changes to Corbin/Post Project: An Open Letter

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David Genovese, the lead partner in the massive Baywater Corbin project between the Post Road, Corbin Drive and I-95, released this statement explaining why he’s proposing a much changed development after going back to the drawing board:

An Open Letter from David Genovese Regarding the Redesign of Baywater’s Downtown Darien Project

On Oct. 17, we filed a minor modification to the text amendment required to allow our revised project for downtown Darien to proceed. Our plan is to file our Site Plan Application to Darien’s Planning & Zoning Commission in early 2018. These are our first visible actions on our project since we received an approval earlier this year for the text amendment we had proposed in 2016. Given the significant public interest shown in our project over the last two years, and the incredible support we have received over this period, I thought it would be helpful to provide you a summary of where we have been, and where we hope to be going, after an extended period of quiet but intense work.

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Post Road and Corbin Redevelopment Dec five seventeen

New Plan for Corbin/Post Project: Less High, Less Deep, Less Large, Yet With Bigger Footprint

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The big downtown redevelopment proposal for Corbin Drive and the Post Road, with its huge underground parking garage, some high buildings and a showcase “Village Green” park in the center of town, is being scrapped by the developer. The new proposal, being presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night: Much more above-ground parking — made more discreet behind buildings and along the highway — one building near the highway that’s four stories high, and a winding, green public space that snakes into the project to take the place of the larger “Village Green” idea. The project is smaller, too, with less indoor space, and three commercial property owners on the east side of Corbin Drive have been invited to rebuild on their parcels to extend the redevelopment. Editor’s note, several additional images have been added to the article in the hour after it was first published. A table with square-feet data may be added to the article later.

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Current Meeting House rendering CP 01-11-17

New Corbin/Post Redevelopment Proposal Less High, with 749 Parking Spaces

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Heights for the tallest building in the Corbin/Post Road redevelopment proposal is now lower (at 71 feet), as are the four buildings along the Post Road, but to make up for the lost space, some buildings farther from the Post Road would get extra stories. Those were some of the changes detailed at a Planning & Zoning Commission public hearing Tuesday night by Baywater Corbin LLC, the partnership led by David Genovese that wants to redevelop the large downtown site on the triangular block formed by the Post Road, Corbin Drive and Interstate 95. _______________

THIS ARTICLE describes the many new elements of the proposal and focuses on building height, the most controversial element. AN ADDITIONAL ARTICLE will describe what was said at the public hearing. _______________

Other changes in the proposal, as detailed Tuesday night:
The tallest point: a copula/clock tower at the top of the “Meeting House” building facing Market Square: 74 feet high (just a bit higher than the 71-foot Market Street apartment building).

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Market Lane 6-1-16

Building Height Discussed in Last Zone-Change Hearing for Corbin-Post Downtown Redevelopment

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Is five or six stories just too high for a Darien building, even downtown? Or will those buildings loom less over downtown and nearby homes than some fear? Those questions were behind a lot of the discussion Tuesday night at the Planning & Zoning Commission’s last public hearing on a zoning change proposal that would allow higher structures on the triangular site bounded by Corbin Drive, the Post Road and Interstate 95. In a slide presentation from developer David Genovese and his team, the commission saw sketches showing how high the buildings would appear from various angles downtown, some as far away as Darien Library and the intersection of Brookside Road and the Post Road. The commission members also asked questions about how much height was needed for multi-story buildings, how many parking spaces would be provided.

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Corbin Post Road Corner 6-1-16

Only ‘Retail’ Side of Post Office in Latest Downtown Redevelopment Proposal

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The Corbin Drive/Post Road redevelopment proposal would not include the back-office operations of the present Darien Post Office — just the public, front-end “retail” side of it in a 2,500-square-foot space, the Planning & Zoning Commission was told Tuesday. “We’re proposing to eliminate the distribution center for the Post Office, and have that Post Office move that elsewhere,” said David Genovese, principal (with his father, Rocco Genovese) at Baywater Properties, which has partnered with developer Penny Glassmeyer to propose redevelopment of the downtown block between the Post Road, Corbin Drive and Interstate 95. “We would want to include the retail [part of the] Post Office to serve residents in downtown Darien,” he continued. “So we’re proposing a 2,500-square-foot Post Office retail facility, which would be located probably about where it is today.” Genovese has said in the past that fitting in the non-“retail” parts of the Post Office, with space for storage, sorting and parking for delivery vehicles — would be difficult on the site, but if they couldn’t stay downtown, he would try to help find another location for those operations.

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Corbin Post Road Rendering 4-7-16

Developer’s Hopes for Corbin/Post Road Redevelopment Described to Packed Room

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Although he didn’t announce any changes in the plans to transform the Corbin Drive/Post Road/I-95 block of commercial buildings, the chief developer of the project gave out more details to a packed Community Room at Darien Library on Wednesday night, and answered a lot of questions from the audience. Some information that’s new or hasn’t been emphasized before about the project:

Developers are trying to work with the U.S. Postal Service to keep the Post Office on the block and even hope to keep the delivery postal employees based there, although the post office may need more space than the area that’s been discussed. The Bank of America building has not been bought by the owners of the rest of the site. A late-night email to the CEO of L.L. Bean started the ball rolling in discussions with that retailer to bring that store to town. That L.L. Bean store may include a bicycle shop.

Baywater Properties
Corbin Post Road Illustration 3-30-16

Overview of Baywater’s Downtown Darien Proposal

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David Genovese, founder of Baywater Properties, will present to the public an overview of the downtown Darien redevelopment project proposed by Baywater Properties and its partner, PG Properties. 

A full presentation of the project will be given to attendees, with significant time available for questions and comments. The Baywater venture began work on acquiring the properties from Corbin Drive to the Bank of America Building, including the US Post Office at 30 Corbin Drive and 10 Corbin Drive, in 2005. In July of 2015, Baywater presented the initial concept for its redevelopment proposal to a joint meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Architectural Review Board.  Baywater will soon be filing its next application to the Planning & Zoning Commission, with a goal of attaining all approvals by the end of 2016. __________

— an announcement from Darien Library

__________

To create maximum transparency for the zoning and development process, Baywater created a website,www.yourdowntowndarien.com, on which town residents and interested parties can find significant information about the project as proposed. All presentations made to the Town of Darien and other groups are available for viewing from the site, as are the written presentations, studies, and inspirational materials which have influenced the decision-making of Baywater and its team.