David Genovese

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

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

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

Find Out About the Corbin/Post Rd Downtown Redevelopment Proposal Wednesday at the Library

Presentation of Baywater/PG Properties Downtown Development Plan on April 6

P&Z Savors Shake Shack Proposal, But Board’s Chair Dislikes the Topping

Corbin/Post Rd Redevelopment Idea Looks a Bit Less Radical in Latest Presentation

Public Meeting Thursday on Downtown Redevelopment Proposal

Downtown Post Road Property Goes for $2.85 Million

Proposers of Corbin Dr/Post Rd Project Describe It on New Website

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

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

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

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Map of new plan from Baywater Corbin dec four seventeen

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.

Corbin Drive Baywater Corbin proposal Dec four seventeen

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.

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.

Darien Library is hosting an informational meeting Wednesday night, April 6 about the downtown redevelopment proposal along the Post Road and Corbin Drive. David Genovese, principal of Baywater Properties, will present an overview of the proposal, which would transform a large section of downtown. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Here’s an announcement from Darien Library:

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.

Downtown Darien Redevelopment Baywater Genovese 3-19-16

On Wednesday, April 6, 2016 at 7 p.m, 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 presentation takes place at Darien Library. 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. ________________

Editor’s note: This is an announcement from Baywater Properties and PG Properties.

Planning & Zoning Commission Chair Susan Cameron doesn’t like the unusual roof line proposed by architects for Shake Shack, the popular high-end, fast-food joint with a new location proposed on the Post Road. Most of the roof starts high near the front of the building and slopes back toward the rear. At a commission meeting earlier this month, Cameron said she doesn’t like the modern look — she’d prefer something that looks more traditional — and pressed Shake Shack designers to reconsider. Cameron even brought to the meeting some images she’d found of Shake Shack restaurants (which the company calls “shacks”) that had more traditional roofs sloping forward to show to the architects. Hers was the most prominent criticism of the proposal at the Feb.

Commercial Real Estate Developer David Genovese gave a presentation to the public at Town Hall (and on TV79) Thursday evening, providing some updates on his proposal to redevelop the triangle between Corbin Drive, the Post Road and Interstate 95. The proposal doesn’t add that much more retail space to the downtown about another 20,000-square feet, Genovese said. And a new street that would run parallel to the Post Road (and that might be extended to Center Street) is something that previous government studies have suggested, he said. Genovese addressed concerns about underground parking, the addition of a five-story building to downtown, the impact on traffic, and whether the new apartments would increase the school-age population. He mentioned some small changes in the proposal and some other ways the idea might be changed before a formal proposal is presented to town land-use boards.

Darien Board of Realtors has joined with David Genovese of Baywater Properties to present a public forum about the proposed downtown redevelopment between Corbin Drive, the Post Road and Interstate 95. Titled “A New Vision for Downtown Darien,” the informational meeting takes place from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday in Darien Town Hall, 2 Renshaw Road, according to a post on the Darien Board of Realtors Facebook timeline. The post continues: “You won’t want to miss this exciting presentation! RSVP today to: darienmls@optonline.net”

For more information on the proposal, click on the “tags” (words in short blue bands) at the bottom of this article, under “Filed Under.”

The building and land at 1090 Post Road, in the middle of a proposed downtown redevelopment project now in its early stages, has been sold to an entity connected to Baywater Properties, one of the businesses proposing the project. The Double Exposure store is now on the site of the property, sold by Paulson Properties of 146 West Rocks Road, Norwalk to Baywater 1090 BPR, LLC. The sale occurred on Aug. 12 and was filed on Aug. 13 in the Darien Town Clerk’s Office, according to that office.

The partnership proposing to replace the commercial block between the Post Road, Corbin Drive and Interstate 95 say on their new website that it should help, not hurt traffic and parking downtown. David Genovese, president of Baywater Properties (which owns the land, together with developer Penny Glassmeyer’s PG Properties), recently sent a letter to news organizations announcing the new website, www.yourdowntowndarien.com. “We hope that this site will help residents of Darien get information about our proposal with ease,” Genovese wrote in the letter. “On the site, residents can download our P&Z presentation video, as well as the presentation itself, and many videos and documents which are important to consider as it relates to parking, public space, and pedestrian flows downtown.” One part of the website has a FAQs (“frequently asked questions”) format discussing concerns about the proposal, such as traffic, parking and other issues.

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.

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.”

« August 2022 »

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. _____________________________________