I.I. DDESCRIPTIONESCRIPTION OFOF THETHE AAREAREA Introduction [Sec. 8-125(c)(1) A description of the redevelopment area and the condition, Redevelopment Parcel 2b. Burnell type and use of the structures therein] Boulevard to the north, River Street to the east, Wall Street to the south and Belden Avenue to Description Site Boundary the west. of Area The Redevelopment Area (the "area") is as Redevelopment Parcel 3. The parcel described in "Map 1," and "Appendix A: formally known as Cottage Street (a paper Description of Area," as attached. Generally, street) to the north, High Street and Smith Figure 10: Wall Street streetscape the boundary of the area begins at the intersec- Street to the east, the southern boundary of the Land Use tion of Byington Place, Cross Street and Belden property identified in the Norwalk Tax Avenue and runs northeast along Cross Street; Assessor's maps as parcel 1-59-8-0 and the best described as comprising a "mixed it then extends south along Main Street before Norwalk River and Main Street to the east; use area". Parcel sizes are small and gen- moving east to High Street then south to its erally insufficient to form an adequate intersection with Wall Street where it moves Redevelopment Parcel 4. Cross Street to unit of development in the current real Streets east to and along East Wall Street then south on the north, Main Street to the east, and Hoyt estate market. A land use map included in and Utilities Hubbell’s Lane before crossing the Norwalk Street to the south and west. Part II. "Land Use" shows the types of River and moving west along Chapel Street, uses for each structure in the area. then north along West Avenue, then west on Prevailing Types and Uses of Structures Mott Avenue and then north on Cross Street to The buildings in the area are reflective of the Displacement its point of origin. Where streets make up the and Plan’s boundary, it runs along their centerline. definitions of a redevelopment area as outlined Relocation under Connecticut Statutes (§8-125b and §8- The Redevelopment Plan (the "Plan") encom- 141). The conditions are also consistent with passes five Redevelopment Parcels, numbered US Department of Housing and Urban 1, 2a, 2b, 3, and 4. These parcels are also shown Development (HUD) definitions of blighted areas (24CFR570.208b1), insofar as over one- in "Map 1." and are generally bounded as fol- Zoning lows: quarter (25%) of the buildings in the area are in deteriorated or deteriorating condition and the Financials Redevelopment Parcel 1. Byington municipality has designated the area as blight- Place to the west, Mott Avenue to the south, and ed, deteriorated, or deteriorating in its resolu- Appendices Belden Avenue to the north and east; tion (see Attachment B).

Redevelopment Parcel 2a. Wall Street to As the city's historical downtown, 19th and the north, West Avenue to the west, the south- early 20th century commercial buildings pre- ern boundary of property formally occupied by dominate, with a lesser presence of aged indus- a national chain pharmacy and four north-fac- trial buildings, and modern structures built sub- ing parcels on Leonard Street to the south, and sequent to the 1955 flood. The types and uses of Commerce Street to the east; structures in the area are widely varied, being Wall Street Redevelopment Plan - 2004 Page - 9 Introduction

§8-125(c)(1)

§8-125(c)(2)

§8-125(c)(3)

§8-125(c)(4)

§8-125(c)(5)

§8-125(c)(6)

Appendices

Map 1: Project area with Redevelopment Parcels 1-4 Page - 10 Norwalk Redevelopment Agency Introduction Prevailing Conditions of structures to be found in each are provided below, together with the The area falls wholly within census tract 437 general program of proposed devel- and is a Low-Moderate Income Area ("LMI opment. Inclusion in a Redevelop- Description Area"), with 64% of residents at or below ment Parcel means that a property has of HUD's definition of low or moderate income been identified as critical for meeting Area the goals of the Plan. Acquisition may or may not be a means by which the Agency and a designated develop- er address a property's role in the Land Use Plan. The Agency will acquire and offer for redevelopment those proper- ties whose condition warrants clear- ance or whose acquisition is neces- sary to provide an adequate unit of Streets development. Those buildings com- and patible with the overall goals and Utilities objectives of the Plan are designated not to be Figure 12: Redevelopment Parcel 1 Figure 11: Wall Street storefront acquired, and are slated for preservation. Other status. Prevailing conditions in the area include tools and strategies included in the Plan - such Displacement substandard residential and commercial struc- as façade improvement, historic preservation, and tures, with elevated rates of vacancy, and dete- design standards, community policing, and a Relocation riorated or deteriorating conditions. There is lit- micro-loan program - are by no means tle evidence of recent investment in the area, premised on ownership transfers of property. and the condition of the real estate is substan- Properties located within those Redevelopment dard relative to the rest of Norwalk. The Wall Parcels identified as Tier II - Parcels 1, 2b and Street Update (2003) notes that the Wall Street 4 - are not subject to acquisition via eminent Zoning area "…has lagged behind its potential for sev- domain under this Plan. Note: for eral reasons. There has been a persistent mis- Redevelopment Parcels whose area crosses a match between the land use patterns, parcel public street, no street abandonment or transfer Financials configurations, and contemporary market needs of property is intended nor should be inferred for retail, commercial and housing uses." (page by maps and figures in the Plan. Figure 13: Courthouse parking lot Appendices 5) Redevelopment Parcel 1 The Agency will mainly focus its redevelop- ment efforts on five (5) Redevelopment Parcels This site includes the central branch of the within the area. Detailed descriptions of those Norwalk Public Library, the parking lot for the parcels, their conditions, and the types and uses Connecticut Superior Courthouse on Belden

Wall Street Redevelopment Plan - 2004 Page - 11 Introduction Avenue, and two private buildings, includ- this 6.3 acre parcel which is accessible from §8-125(c)(1) ing a financial services firm and a private both Isaacs Street and Leonard Street. social club. §8-125(c)(2) Among the most prominent cultural uses in the This 1.3 acre redevelopment area contains area are its theaters. The Globe Theater (now §8-125(c)(3) approximately 100 parking spaces distrib- called "The Roxy") has a long and distin- uted among several property owners. As guished history and should be renovated and §8-125(c)(4) shown in Figure 13, taken on a regular preserved. Located along Isaacs Street, the business day in the mid-afternoon, the Garden Cinema Theater, of more recent vin- fractured nature of ownership creates inef- tage, has gained success by featuring limited- §8-125(c)(5) ficient use of available parking spaces. release movies. The focus of the proposed redevelopment §8-125(c)(6) on this site is the reconfiguration of exist- A variety of retail, commercial and entertain- ing parking spaces through negotiated ment businesses line Isaacs Street, surround the AppendicesFigure 14: Redevelopment Parcel 2a agreements with property owners to support the planned expansion of the Norwalk Public Library. (Although the library serves the City's approximately 83,000 resi- dents, the approximately 46,000 square foot facility Figure 16: Isaac Street parking lot Figure 15: Area theaters, The Roxy and Garden Cinemas claims only 12 parking spaces, severely hampering its conven- parking area, and encompass a small portion of ient use by Norwalk residents.) Leonard Street as illustrated on Map 1. Redevelopment at the site should also reflect its Additional residential, office and retail uses role in the area as a civic hub, creating in con- front West Avenue and Wall Street. Nearly all junction with Redevelopment Parcel 2b, a land- of the uses are housed in single-story, low-rise scaped ‘common,’ as a landmark and gathering buildings. With the clear exception of the Globe place. Theater and its two neighboring structures to the north, most of the structures in this Redevelopment Parcel 2a Redevelopment Parcel were built after the 1955 A publicly-owned and administered parking flood and are of little historical significance. area with 248 spaces is located at the center of Proposed redevelopment for Redevelopment

Page - 12 Norwalk Redevelopment Agency Introduction Parcel 2a is residential mixed-use development Office. Although not part of Redevelopment in keeping with the scale and density of the Parcel 2b, the library is also located at this area, supplemented with structured parking. intersection, across Belden Avenue. The Post Office and library are both major nodes of Redevelopment Parcel 2b activity, and critical elements of the area’s civic Description hub. With their combined activity, this location of Redevelopment Parcel 2b is characterized by is the focal point for the area's busiest vehicular Area its proximity to the bustling intersection of Wall and pedestrian traffic. Nevertheless, chronic Street, Belden Avenue and West Avenue, and vacancies, lagging property maintenance, and also by the presence of the Norwalk Post poorly organized rear parking create undesir- able traffic conditions at the intersection and Land Use make this a substandard location in terms of convenience and safety. Plans for Redevelopment Parcel 2b entail the addition of Figure 19: Redevelopment Parcel 2b commercial floors or reconstruction of existing one-story structures as multi-story commercial Streets buildings in the block bordered by Wall Street, and River Street, Burnell Boulevard and Belden Utilities Avenue. The redevelopment parcel should, in conjunction with Redevelopment Parcel 1, pro- Figure 17: Pedestrian walkway from the garage vide safe pedestrian crossings, a land- Displacement and scaped area at its Relocation southern tip -- adding to the site’s develop- ment as a ‘common’ -- and will also include a Figure 20: Neglected improvements pedestrian walkway Zoning along the rear of those buildings that face upon Wall Street, thus Financials offering a pleasing and convenient access to Appendices Yankee Doodle Garage.

Redevelopnt Parcel 3

Redevelopment Parcel

Figure 18: The Belden / Wall / West / Mott intersection. Figure 21: Redevelopment Parcel 3 (north) Wall Street Redevelopment Plan - 2004 Page - 13 Introduction 3 encompasses 4.72 acres and is divided by Agency, in collaboration with a designated §8-125(c)(1) Wall Street into two portions, one north of Wall developer, will seek to take advantage of the Street, and one south of Wall Street. attributes of both portions in order to unlock the §8-125(c)(2) maximum possible public benefit associated Important characteristics distinguish the north- with Redevelopment Parcel 3. §8-125(c)(3) ern and southern portions of Redevelop-ment Parcel 3. One is to the north of Wall Street, one The northern portion is characterized by two §8-125(c)(4) is to the south; one contains city-owned proper- prominent features. The first of these is a diffi- ty, one does not; one is on Main Street, one is cult traffic intersection created by the conflu- on the waterfront. Nevertheless, a review of the ence of Wall, Main, Knight, and High Streets; §8-125(c)(5) the second is the city-owned and operated park- ing area located behind a row of buildings §8-125(c)(6) fronting on Wall and the lower tip of Main and High Streets. This lot presently contains 91 Appendices spaces. The group of structures on Wall Street Figure 22: Redevelopment Parcel 3 (south) is a short row of small commercial retail estab- lishments, with few vacancies, in a low-rise building seemingly built subsequent to the 1955 flood. The building has a narrow arcade that incorporates a portion of the sidewalk. Sidewalk improvements are in a state of neg- Figure 24: Lower High St. pedestrian way development potential of each portion suggests a natural symbiotic relation- ship for the two and their pairing as a single unit of development. For exam- ple, concentrating ample parking resources at the Figure 23: Litter-strewn Wall St. sidewalk location of the current High Street lot could enrich enjoyment of the public access waterfront and esplanade planned along Smith Street by reducing vehicular traffic there. Therefore, the Figure 25: Deteriorating industrial building Page - 14 Norwalk Redevelopment Agency Introduction Figure 26: Redevelopment Parcel 3 waterfront access and public esplanade. lect. The located on a rear lot at the Head of the Harbor. structure fronting A portion of the Redevelopment Parcel fronts on High on Smith Street, a narrow, one-way road that Description Street was extends from Wall Street south along the of renovated Norwalk River. The buildings at the Smith Area as recent- Street intersection with Wall Street, historically ly as the the site of Smith & Day Pottery, appear to have 1980s, been vacant for several years and are in a state and con- of dangerous disrepair. Included among these Land Use sists is a dilapidated warehouse structure south of mainly of office uses. A multi-tiered parking the intersection, which possesses the character- structure is the centerpiece of the potential istics of an environmentally contaminated development program for the northern portion "brownfield" as defined by the United States Figure 27: Redevelopment Parcel 4 of Redevelopment Parcel 3. This parking struc- Environmental Protection Agency.* Streets ture will accommodate 255 spaces and provide and vehicular access to and from Main and High The potential redevelopment program for Utilities Streets. Redevelopment Parcel 3 includes new residen- tial units, artist or live/work space and water- The southern portion of Redevelopment Parcel oriented retail space along Smith Street. The Displacement 3, of all the Redevelopment Parcels, has the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the river- and largest number of designated and de facto his- front parcels along Smith Street should include Relocation toric structures. These structures are currently restructuring the lower Mill Hill area to facili- in poor condition (Ref. Figures 23, 25). This tate pedestrian connections to the waterfront. Redevelopment Parcel has the highest inci- An essential purpose of this parcel will be the dence of substandard buildings, with many in creation of public waterfront access to the Head varying degrees of deterioration and vacancy. of the Harbor and along the Norwalk River. Figure 28: NW corner of Hoyt and Main St. Zoning Many of the buildings have broken or boarded This public space will provide a connection up windows, flaking paint, rotting molding, and between the buildings on Wall Street and the eroding mortar. Little effort is being made to waterfront. Accompanied by a public Financials maintain the vacant storefronts, and trash often esplanade and pedestrian amenities such as lies strewn on the sidewalk. The portion of the urban greenery, park furniture and public light- Appendices Redevelopment Parcel located on Wall Street is ing, this will provide a recreational outlet to the the site of a former pedestrian plaza known as residents of the Wall Street area while animat- St. John's Place. The multi-story buildings ing the Norwalk waterfront. which face it retain the features of classic 19th century facades. Their backs face the Norwalk Redevelopment Parcel 4 River and the Head of the Harbor. A private * The EPA facilities where and commercial industrial under-used as: abandoned, idled, or brownfields defines contamination. environmental or perceived complicated by real is redevelopment expansion or club featuring boat docks and a restaurant is The intersection of Cross and Main Streets rep- Figure 29: Redevelopment Parcel 4 shop- ping center and parking lot Wall Street Redevelopment Plan - 2004 Page - 15 Introduction resents the northern gateway into the project §8-125(c)(1) area. This parcel is the site of several small, yet active commercial enterprises most notably the §8-125(c)(2) automobile service businesses located near the corner of Hoyt and Cross Street and the corner §8-125(c)(3) of Cross and Main Streets. Within the center of the parcel is a multi-tenant, low-rise commer- §8-125(c)(4) cial development. The major uses within this commercial development include small busi- nesses, a private community health center, a §8-125(c)(5) donation collection center for a prominent char- itable organization and fast food restaurants. §8-125(c)(6) This development surrounds approximately 150 private parking spaces. The largest struc- Appendices ture within the parcel is a recently renovated, brick-faced warehouse rental building. A bar/restaurant is located at the corner of Main and Hoyt Street and is adjacent to several store- fronts that house retail uses.

The proposed redevelopment program for this parcel seems likely to include the creation of both residential and retail space fronting upon both Cross Street and Main Street. A structured parking facility should accompany and support this development, as should continued pursuit of the planned widening of Cross Street / Route 1 as an important gateway to the area.

Page - 16 Norwalk Redevelopment Agency