Plan for Ideal Forging site slogs ahead

By Zachary Janowski

The Southington Citizen

February 19th, 2009

The effort to redevelop the former site of Ideal Forging has taken a new direction with developers seeking a grant from Gov. M. Jodi Rell instead of using a special taxing district to raise money for the environmental cleanup.

The development proposal, known as Greenway Commons, includes 263 condos and almost 25,000 square feet of retail space across 14 acres, according to economic development coordinator Louis Perillo.

Perillo said the developers, Meridian Development Partners, are seeking $6.3 million from Rell's office to pay for the demolition of the old factory and the environmental cleanup of the site.

Perillo said the remediation will take six to 11 months. The project has already been "in the works" for 3.5 years.

"You're looking at 263 to 526 people who will really benefit the town businesses," Perillo said, referring to the project's benefit.

Perillo said he is working on a tax abatement package that would reduce some of the property taxes on the project, but the town itself would provide no direct financial assistance.

He said the town will see an increase in revenue from conveyance tax when each of the units are sold.

Howard Schlesinger, an architect with Meridian, told the town council it should support the request for state money because it would create 300 jobs on a short-term basis and 150 in the long term.

Meridian had previously secured the passed of special legislation to allow a special tax on the property to recoup its investment in the environmental remediation of the site, but current economic conditions dimmed the prospect of financing needed to complete the project in such a way.

Schlesinger said the bond financing direction is "no longer available."

The governor's money provides the added benefit of being up front, instead of being collected years down the road.

"The need for the district will only be necessary if we need additional financing to clean up the property," Schlesinger said.

Town Attorney Mark Sciota said the town council voted to authorize the "letter and the letter only." He said when the paperwork comes in from the state, the council could review the "nuts and bolts" of the program.

"We're still very hopeful that Meridian will receive some funding for the cleanup," said Art Secondo, president of the Greater Southington Chamber of Commerce. "A lot of people think that this project isn't moving forward. It is."

Charlie Cocuzza, chairman of the chamber's board, made a statement to the town council expressing the group's support for the project.

"The chamber's board of directors unanimously voted to endorse the Greenway Commons project-for the benefit of economic development, our downtown district, additional taxes and overall renaissance of a once proud manufacturing area of town," Cocuzza said. "The chamber encourages our town officials and state representatives to move quickly to encourage the state's approval for the funds that will begin a project that all of us will be extremely proud of for years to come."

Meridian Memos:

"Repositioning the United States"
June 2009
by Michael G. Clark, Principal

From the time we sent An Awakening out in January until now, the government has taken unprecedented steps toward the goal of stabilizing the U.S. economy.

This herculean effort/spending binge has been met with an overall increase in confidence by the marketplace that can mainly be attributed to the diminished fear of the Great Depression 2.0.

However, America’s rebound in confidence and the rise of the stock market should not be a bellwether of an imminent return to economic sanctity.

Talks of “green shoots” have dominated the press, but let us not confuse a lack of bad news with growth, or an increase in confidence with progress.

To Read More, Click Here

"An Awakening"
8 January 2009
by Michael G. Clark, Principal

The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest.
- Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

One of Meridian Development Partners’ New Year’s resolutions is to provide regular commentary on many of the changes that will reshape economic behavior and define opportunities and risks over the coming years.

This particular piece is intended to provide a broad-based reflection on 2008, as well as set the stage for future focused commentaries on specific initiatives and their implications for real estate investing.

Our goal is to generate an ongoing dialogue and debate with our colleagues and partners.

Through this we hope that our knowledge will be expanded and that we will all come out a little bit smarter for it.

To Read More, Click Here