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Report: Main Ave. parcel back in play – but not for BJ’s

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Opponents of the then-proposed Norwalk BJ's Wholesale Club use balloons to try to illustrate the height of the proposed store last September on Main Avenue.
Opponents of the then-proposed Norwalk BJ’s Wholesale Club use balloons to try to illustrate the height of the proposed store last September on Main Avenue.

Updated 12:05 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, with comments from Mayor Harry Rilling.:

NORWALK, Conn. – The long-dormant former Superfund site at 272-280 Main Ave. – the site proposed a year ago for a BJ’s Wholesale Club – is attracting some renewed interest, according to a City Hall source who requested anonymity.

The five-acre parcel is being looked at as a possible site for an assisted living center, the source said Monday.

On Tuesday, Mayor Harry Rilling confirmed the city has spoken with a developer, but he declined to say who that is.

“Well, we’ve had some dialogue,” Rilling said. “It’s a little premature, but I’m cautiously optimistic. Hopefully they will maintain their interest after they look at the property.”

The BJ’s proposal became a hot-button issue during the 2013 mayoral campaign, with then-Mayor Richard Moccia arguing in favor of welcoming more Big Box retail development to the city, and then-candidate Harry Rilling fighting against it. BJ’s, which had proposed a 109,000-square-foot store for the site on the heavily traveled road, eventually withdrew its application in the face of growing opposition from the community.

The parcel is the former site of ELINCO (Electric Indicator Co.).

Comments

3 responses to “Report: Main Ave. parcel back in play – but not for BJ’s”

  1. Joanne

    Great idea for assisted living. There is a great need to house residents who can no longer afford the upkeep of their homes or for one reason or other are unable to care for themselves without some help. Hopefully they will be affordable assisted living units as some of these places drain the resources from the resident and/or their families.

    Perhaps another avenue would be that we should look at one of these sites as a place to feed the community and put our Veterans and citizens to work since there is a big need for this in most communities. Boot Camp Farms, Bridegport, CT Boot Camp Farms, which broke ground in September in Bridgeport, the most populous city in Connecticut, will do more than grow food. It will provide jobs and training for veterans, facilitate environmental clean-up, and give produce options to those living in an urban food desert. Connecticut’s largest urban agriculture center, Boot Camp Farms Bridgeport, will consist of 80,000 square feet of computer-controlled hydroponic greenhouses, a retail center and a community center sitting atop converted brown fields in the city’s East End neighborhood. The for-profit farm will produce 800,000 pounds of fresh produce annually for local consumption and create more than 40 full-time jobs. The farm will grow leafy greens, tomatoes, and herbs year-round using organic nutrients and no pesticides. Produce will be sold both commercially and at a subsidized rate for local residents in the adjacent retail store. An extension program of the University of Connecticut’s Department of Agriculture will train the greenhouse’s farmers, offer agriculture courses to the community, and teach local schoolchildren about sustainable agriculture in the adjacent community center. – See more at: http://bootcampfarms.com/

  2. EveT

    Assisted living seems like an excellent use for the site.

  3. New Era

    It is interesting to see what’s is going to get down

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