The Hamlet @ Saugatuck project is dead.
But 2 of the properties proposed for that redevelopment project recently changed hands.
As first reported by Westport Journal, Spinnaker Real Estate Partners — a Norwalk-based commercial real estate firm that has developed mixed-use properties in South Norwalk and New Haven — bought 606 Riverside Avenue for $12.795 million, and 96 Franklin Street for $3.25 million.
The larger Riverside Avenue site includes Minutemen Cleaners and 2 other businesses. Previously, it was an automobile dealership. The smaller nearby property is a parking lot.
Spinnaker has not yet disclosed plans for the site. They did not respond to requests for comment.
606 Riverside Avenue.
Will they try to recreate some elements of the Hamlet project — the retail/ residential/hotel/marina plan rejected last year by the Planning & Zoning Commission?
Some residents applauded some parts of the proposal, developed by ROAN Ventures. Others found it too dense, too massive, too out of character for the neighborhood.
New commercial development in the area — particularly around dilapidated 606 Riverside Avenue — could be the next step for Spinnaker. It would follow the renovation pioneered by Gault that brought the Whelk, other businesses and apartments to the area near Bridge Square (and which, when proposed, was also hotly debated).
New apartments a few steps from the train station could attract both young people, and older Westporters looking to downsize. Spinnaker has experience with transit-oriented development: Their Platform apartments are just steps from the South Norwalk station.
Spinnaker’s “The Platform” apartments, by the South Norwalk train station. They include studios, and 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms.
Hamlet’s hotel idea was welcomed by some. Others questioned the economics of a boutique property with just a few dozen rooms, in the shadow of I-95.
After the P&Z squelched the Hamlet, ROAN threatened a massive 8-30g affordable housing development. They later withdrew that plan.
Spinnaker has not previously pursued 8-30g projects. Their work leans toward projects like SoNo Central, a 150-unit apartment building with 3,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and The Audubon, luxury apartments near Yale New Haven Hospital and the Audubon Arts District.
ROAN proposed to renovate and “re-skin” the 21 Charles Street office building opposite Zucca Gastrobar. The structure has been a thorn in the side of many locals. Spinnaker did not buy that property, however.
Spinnaker’s purchases also did not include any riverfront property. ROAN’s plans for water taxis were derided by some. Others liked the idea of a marina, and the concept of opening up the river — now hidden behind nondescript buildings, and a boatyard.
One of the Hamlet’s marina plans.
All of which is to say: Saugatuck development may soon be back in the news.
In which case, it will share headlines with another Saugatuck project: the future of the Cribari Bridge.
The 2 would not be related — except for their impact on traffic through the area.
That is an important consideration.
One of ROAN’s proposals involved rethinking and synchronizing traffic lights, from I-95 Exit 17 down Charles Street and Riverside Avenue, to the bridge.
Whatever Spinnaker decides, that would be a welcome step toward solving some of the thorniest issues Saugatuck has seen in its long, storied history.
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Gee, the Hamlet’s looking pretty good now isn’t it? Remember who you have to thank for this when it’s done. Mostly the same people who’ve moved on to the Cribari Bridge and are making many of the same arguments.
Looking forward to seeing the revitalization of the Saugatuck train station area. Spinnaker has a strong track record, and I’m confident they’ll create a compelling mixed-use destination with both housing and retail. That said, it’s still disappointing that the town reversed course on the Hamlet project. It had the potential to deliver significant long-term benefits for Westport—especially with the environmental remediation component and the meaningful addition to the tax base. It would have been great to see that vision carried through. Hoping there is still an opportunity to enhance the water front.
Hamlet will continue to be recognized as the better option. Hindsight is 20/20.
Spinnaker builds the same rinse and repeat “warehouse look” generic crap that in-fills cities like Nashville and Charlotte. Cheap, quick to construct, devoid of any architectural interest. They’re the white house / black window version of mutifamily structures.
https://spinrep.com/portfolio/
Saugatuck will look like the East Norwalk train station area in a couple of years. Maybe the Hamlet was too much, but at least it had character.