STAMFORD, CT. | Station Place Redevelopment | (3 Towers) | 17-12 FLOORS

Continuing the discussion from STAMFORD, CT. | Stamford Core Redevelopment:

Station Place Redevelopment (Manhattan Street, Station Place, Atlantic Street, Henry Street)

Facts:

  • Mix of Office, Commercial, Residential, Parking (Garage) space
  • Combined Total of +1,000,000 sq ft of development
  • Office/Hotel Complex: +600,000 sq ft,
  • Metro Tower: 17 story office building
  • Manhattan St Tower
  • 150 room hotel, 150 residential units
  • 11.5 story residential building (131 Units)
  • 2.5 story residential building (24 Units)
  • 60,000 sq ft street-level retail
  • Total of 2,300 spaces between parking garages
  • Developer: JHM Group of Companies, Malkin Properties, and Jonathan Rose Companies LLC
  • $500M development
  • Expected Groundbreaking: Mid 2014

Stamford rail station plan unveiled

Project: Includes office, residential, commercial space

Martin B. Cassidy
Updated 9:59 pm, Thursday, July 11, 2013

STAMFORD – A long-awaited plan to redevelop property near the downtown railroad station into office and residential space would include a Station Place office building and hotel complex of more than 600,000 square feet and place nearly half of all commuter parking spaces in new garages east and west of the station.

The Station Place buildings, along with a separate development on Manhattan Street featuring a mix of office, residential and commercial space, will total about 1 million square feet combined, officials said. The Station Place development will be built on the site of a dilapidated 1985 parking garage that has long been slated for replacement.

“This is going to be a true transit-oriented development,” said John McClutchy, president of JHM Group of Companies, the state’s chosen developer for the project. --¦ As the commissioner mentioned, this is all about the commuters and all about making their trek back and forth, whether going to New York and coming back into the evening a little bit easier. It is also about making the surroundings here more pleasant."

The plan was unveiled at the station Thursday by state Department of Transportation Commissioner Jim Redeker, who announced that McClutchy’s company, Stamford-based JHM Group of Companies, will build the $500 million redevelopment of state land at the station and on South State Street, as well as private property on Manhattan Street.

State officials have been reviewing developers’ proposals since last fall amid sustained concerns about the confidential bidding process in the development’s public-private partnership and whether the selected proposal would relocate rail parking farther from platforms than existing parking.

Standing alongside Redeker and McClutchy Thursday were Mayor Michael Pavia, state Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, and members of an advisory group appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to provide input during the developer’s selection. All expressed support of the plan.

“When you look around and see the opportunities that are taking place in and around this center, and now with the recent announcement of a new public-private partnership it just ramps it up even more,” Pavia said.

An existing 1,200-space parking garage will remain dedicated to commuter use, while another 1,100 spaces will be split between a new South State Street garage and the complex on Manhattan Street. That parking should be available within three years after construction begins sometime in mid-2014, officials said.

The number of commuter parking spaces in those two locations will depend on the DOT’s determinations about how to split them between the two locations to best benefit commuters, but the South State Street garage will be exclusively for commuters, Redeker said.

“We have some options about where the spaces will go and we’re working on that to maximize the benefit,” he said.

Redeker acknowledged rail riders’ ongoing trepidation about both the lack of disclosure, as well as possible negative effects on their travel time from parking that has been moved away from the station, but said the state had approached negotiations with the goal of shortening commutes and not catering to developer’s profits.

Redeker said private sector involvement is needed because the cost of replacing the crumbling 1985 garage has grown from $35 million last decade to $70 million or more now.

“This is a negotiated arrangement and, frankly this is the norm for these kinds of projects where we keep the very, very special ideas which are proprietary and, frankly, worth a lot of money, confidential,” Redeker said. --¦If we were to do this project, it would be a garage, and an expensive garage, and in this case we leverage $35 million in state money to create a terrific development, which leverages, in the end, upwards of $500 million in private sector money."

While reserving judgment on the project’s merits until final details are established, Connecticut Rail Commuter Council Chairman Jim Cameron said the decision to retain 1,200 spaces on Station Place for commuters and the location of the two new garages is good news for commuters.

Cameron said he hoped commuters will be given well publicized forums to address concerns about adding walkover bridges along platforms to minimize walking times to the new parking areas.

“It seems there is still a lot to be decided, and I hope the developer does the public outreach,” Cameron said. “But all in all, they’re maintaining 1,200 spaces on Station Place and dedicating a garage on South State Street to commuters. It could be a lot worse.”

Redeker emphasized that new parking in the South State Street garage and in the new Manhattan Street development would be linked to rail platforms by covered pedestrian bridges and are as close, or closer to the platforms as the existing parking spaces at the station.

“Every one of the parking spaces will have direct platform access, regardless of what structure they are in,” he said.

Demolition of the Station Place garage will not begin until permanent replacement parking in the new South State Street garage and the Manhattan Street redevelopment are complete to ensure the same number of commuter parking spaces are available during the project, McClutchy said.

“The number of commuter parking spaces existing today will remain both during our project and after,” McClutchy said.

Daniel Hendricks, a member of both Malloy’s advisory council and the commuter council who travels to work from the Stamford station, said reapportioned parking between three structures will split drivers’ morning arrivals and evening exits more efficiently. Electronic signs will display where open parking spots are, he said.

“This is transformative,” Hendricks said.

In May, the state began meeting with a small group of officials in the city’s planning department and traffic engineers to discuss any potential oversights in the proposal that might impede traffic or conflict with the interests of other property owners.

Redeker said the redevelopment of properties on Manhattan Street would require full city zoning approval, but the Station Place and South State Street alterations are not subject to local planning authorities.

The owners of the Manhattan Street properties, have contracted with JHM Group to sell the land, McClutchy said.

City Rep. Annie Selkovits Taylor, R-19, said despite reassurances from Redeker and others about ease of access, unanswered specifics remain about how parkers in the Manhattan or South State street garages will move quickly to train platforms. Taylor represents North Stamford.

“They all speak very reassuringly that this is consumer-friendly and commuter-friendly and will improve commuting time,” she said. “I’m not sure what we heard today is enough to quell their concerns and we’re going to have to be cautiously optimistic as it goes through the approval process.”

Of immediate concern to residents should be the anticipated consideration of a state request to close a 2,000-foot section of South State Street, a plan to be heard by the Board of Representatives’ Land Use and Urban Redevelopment Committee next month.

Taylor said is would be irresponsible for city representatives to give the street to the state without ironclad assurances about of how the road will be used.

The closure process would require the city’s administration to make an official determination that turning over the road is in Stamford’s interest.

Redeker said that public outreach efforts by JHM Group of Companies would begin immediately, through meetings with local business associations and the local city government as well as commuters.

“We’re committed to seeking that input,” he said.

What an embarrassment.

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https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/stamford-train-station-redesign-look-18105265.php

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$82 million to build 930 parking spaces?

That’s more than $88,000 per parking space!

This truly is “the fleecing of America.”

And they still have don’t have an opening date. What an embarrassment for the state Department of Transportation.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/stamford-transportation-center-parking-18524722.php

The delays are caused by supply chain issues, said Josh Morgan, a spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation. He said the extended timelines have been frustrating.

“We’d love to have this open before the holidays, but unfortunately, we’re still at the mercy of materials, which continue to be delayed,” Morgan said. “It’s a seven-level parking garage, so we can’t open up until people on the first floor and the seventh floor can get down safely. The elevator being up and running is paramount, for sure.”

Crews are waiting for hand railings, panes of glass and other pieces, which Morgan said must be installed for the garage to receive a certificate of occupancy.

The new garage, which will replace the crumbling 1985 structure on Station Place, was planned to open by the end of summer. As officials ask for patience with the new garage, they have also set a date for when the old one will be demolished.

Morgan said demolition of the old garage will tentatively begin on Feb. 1.

We’ll see if the old garage commences demolition by February 1, 2025.

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Garage might open by the end of the month.

However, supply chain issues with materials for things like handrailing are still ongoing, and stairwells and elevators within the garage need to be brought up to code first, CTDOT spokesperson Josh Morgan told Patch.

The hope is to have the garage open before the end of December, Morgan said.

“It’s built, the parking structure itself has all the signage installed, the lines are painted, the [electric vehicle] chargers are in, the bike racks with the bike chargers for E-bikes — everything is in — we just can’t get that certificate to open until those entrances and egresses are up to code,” Morgan added. “We’re sort of at the mercy of supply chain materials that we’re continuing to battle through.”

Old garage will be demolished next year to make way for an empty lot. There are no concrete plans to building anything on the site.

I’m not surprised. Stamford is a mess. And they need to overhaul the current taxi system. You can’t pay by card nor are the vehicles updated like in NYC. You can’t easily schedule an Uber to drop you off on that side either.

I found this map showing the demolition plans. The pedestrian overpass will be demolished first, followed by the 1980s-era garage.

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New garage might open by mid-February, according to this article.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/opening-new-stamford-train-station-parking-garage-18637795.php

The new carpark at Stamford station finally opens today, meaning the old garage can finally be demolished. This will open up a new development site on Station Place, across from the railway station.

This pedestrian bridge is massive (look at the photos below)!

Photos from Hearst Connecticut Media (https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/stamford-train-station-parking-garage-finally-open-18688175.php)


The new parking garage at the Stamford Transportation Center was officially opened in Stamford, Conn. Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Mayor Caroline Simmons was joined by Gov. Ned Lamont and others to cut the ribbon on the new garage, which features 914 parking spaces, 92 electric vehicle charging stations, and 120 bicycle spaces.

Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media


Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media


Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media


Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media


Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media


Brianna Gurciullo / Hearst Connecticut Media


Brianna Gurciullo / Hearst Connecticut Media

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During a ceremony Monday to open a new garage on South State Street, transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto called the Station Place site “one of the most important parcels in the state.”

After the old garage is demolished, Eucalitto said, his agency can begin transit-oriented development, a term for dense housing or commercial projects built close to a transit center.

Eucalitto’s comments echoed James Redeker, who was commissioner under the previous governor, Dan Malloy, when the agency was working with private developer John McClutchy of JHM Group on a transit-oriented project for the state-owned land at Station Place.

Redeker said it was “the most valuable piece of property in the state,” as far as the department was concerned. McClutchy’s blueprint for a 1-million-square-foot housing, office, retail and hotel complex was chosen mostly because of the amount of revenue it would generate for department, according to the agency’s request for proposals.

…

Transportation officials said demolition of the old garage is set to begin in March and be completed by September.