WAYPOINTE APPROVED!Norwalk council approves West Avenue development in early-morning votePosted: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 By Frank MacEachern , Staff Writer - The Advocate Developer Stanley Seligson moved through the council chambers offering thanks and receiving congratulations from councilors and development supporters following the final vote of the fve-hour meeting. "I'm delighted, Now we can go out and actively solicit tenants," Seligson said in between hugs and handshakes. He said he's shooting to break ground on the project next year and hopes to see the $553-million commercial, retail and residential development open for business in three years. He cautioned that timeline depends on the economy and on finding good tenants. "There are good tenants out there. It's not as bad as everyone says. Look at The approval came after three votes. The first and most contentious occurred just minutes before midnight Tuesday as the Norwalk Common Council approved a controversial bond resolution to move the development forward. Five Democrats joined the council's six Republicans in approving the $103-million bond resolution to pay for five parking garages at the Waypointe development. The four no votes were cast by Democrats Bill Krummel, Steven Serasis, Anna Duleep and Michael Geake. Geake said he had difficulty with the city plowing its money into a private development. "My problem is our paying for it. Our buying nine figures worth of parking, parking that is only required for that upscale retail. That is not something we should be subsidizing and subsidizing we are," Geake said The bond would only be issued once the developer, Stanley M. Seligson Properties, had rented 75 percent of the commercial space. But council Democrat Amanda Brown, who had expressed reservations about the bond resolution, voted in favor. Serasis said he couldn't support the resolution because of his misgivings about the city's involvement. "I don't understand why we have to get into the business of owning parking garages," he said. "I wish I could vote differently but I just can't get past the fact we shouldn't be owning parking garages." A fellow Democrat, Rev. Phyllis Bolden said she believed all of the questions surrounding the project were answered, even if some of her fellow Democrats didn't believe so. "This has been a long long road," Bolden.said "I am satisfied with all the work and I am satisfied with all the answers. Some on the council are not." Among those questions was whether the bond would burden the city with an excessive debt load. But Finance Director Tom Hamilton said the city was well within its limits. "We are nowhere near our statuatory limit," "I would submit to you it has been vetted more thoroughly than any other project in the history of the city," The other two votes were on the Master Development Agreement (MDA) and the three ordinance changes. In each of those votes Geake and Krummel voted against, while Serasis abstained on both votes. The other 12 members of the council voted in favor The MDA spells out the responsibilities of the developer, the city and the city's redevelopment agency. The ordinance changes covered the creation of a special services district, which would enable the development to levy taxes in the development, allowing outdoor dining in a plaza-like setting, and allowing all parking revenue in the project to be funneled to pay for a $103-million bond. Before the council deliberated, two-dozen people commented on the project with 14 people supporting the project. The remainder were either opposed or had questions about the project. City resident Melvin Patrick questioned why the city is proposing a $103-million bond issue to pay for the project's garages. He said private developers should not rely on taxpayer money and instead raise the money privately. He wondered why the developer couldn't raise that money from private lenders. "What do they know that we don't know?" he asked about private lenders. He said the city's decision to issue the bond "was the path of least resistance. I am here tonight to be part of that resistance," he said. Patrick was one of about 75 people who crowded into the Common Council chambers on the third floor of city hall for the meeting. But many speakers lined up to support the project. One was Victor Cavallo, who currently sits on the city's planning commission. "The area is blighted and needs to be redeveloped"¦it needs government support," Cavallo said as he pointed to the city's involvement in building parking garages in previous years. Among those was at the Maritime Garage in Jeffrey Kaplan, marketing director for Seligson Properties, read a letter from area businesspeople urging support for the project. "Their businesses and our city's future depends on it," he said. "What we end up getting is a completely redeveloped area. Edward Musante, president of the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, urged the councilors to put aside political divisions and support the project. "Tonight, vote for progress for Mayor Richard Moccia came in for some criticism from one of the speakers. Dolores Meehan slowly walked to the microphone to voice her opposition to the city bonding $103 million to pay for the parking garages. She said he called her after a letter to the editor by her opposing the city's involvement. "I got a nasty call from the mayor at 3 p.m. today"¦I was chastised by the big mayor," she sad. "Dolores that's not true, that's not true," Moccia answered, shaking his head. He said he telephoned her but only to discuss the issue. Another speaker who was against the project, Christopher Potts, warned the city was taking on a dangerously high level of debt by issuing $103 million in bonds. "We are literally placing all our eggs in one basket," he said
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