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

Much of Locust Hill Rd to Close from Monday Thru November

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

Business

By David Gurliacci | April 7, 2016

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Education

By David Gurliacci | September 25, 2015

Business

By David Gurliacci | August 5, 2015

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.

A large section of Locust Hill Road from Old Farm Road, near Tokeneke School, to Settlers Trail (see map) will be closed to through-traffic through mid-November, town officials have announced. The road is being closed in order to put a sewer line from a small housing development being constructed by developer Penny Glassmeyer at the corner of Settlers Trail and Locust Hill Road, town officials have said. The original plan had been to connect to sewers with an easement to be negotiated with the owner of some property in the area, but negotiations broke down. It is unclear how the project was approved without arrangements for sewage or if new information made a change in plans necessary. The housing development has already started.

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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.