WATERBURY — City leaders have agreed to share equally with Naugatuck any future tax revenue from development of a roughly 156-acre property straddling their shared border.
The Naugatuck Board of Mayor and Burgesses had previously approved the arrangement.
With the two approvals in hand, the city can now approach the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development to tap $2.8 million in a grant for development of a roadway and utilities into the parcel, said James Nardozzi, interim CEO of the Waterbury Development Corp.
“We needed the signed agreement to satisfy DECD,” Nardozzi said.
The Connecticut State Bond Commission agreed in June to grant $2.8 million for the roadway, utilities and preparation of the land in advance of building construction.
Waterbury has for decades wanted to develop 146.6 acres of wooded land it owns on and over the border with Naugatuck. Plans for a casino, a dog track, a mall and other uses were advanced and then abandoned.
The problem is that the approach from South Main Street in Waterbury is far too steep, making creation of an access road cost-prohibitive, attorney Gary O’Connor testified at the Nov. 19 Board of Aldermen meeting. O’Connor is representing Waterbury in this matter.
Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary and Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess worked out a compromise that will allow access through Naugatuck.
Last year, the WDC and Naugatuck jointly paid $390,000 for a 10.5-acre property at the end of Great Hill Road in Naugatuck to be used for the access. Under the agreement, Waterbury will buy-out Naugatuck’s share of this property.
With all the land in city hands, the city will collect any proceeds from sales. The municipalities will split any tax revenue that results from future development.
The agreement also makes the city responsible for marketing the site and preparing it for development.
O’Connor said the city plans to split the land into an industrial-commercial park of several parcels or prepare and sell it for one user with a building of 800,000 or more square feet. The city would prefer to see a single, large distribution center, O’Connor said.
That would simplify the road and utilities, resulting in a development cost of about $1.8 million. That’s $1 million cheaper than a more complex road and utility layout required to serve several smaller buildings, O’Connor said.
A large distribution center could be worth $150 million, O’Connor estimated.
“So, this is a real tax boon for the city and the Borough of Naugatuck,” O’Connor told the aldermen.
The ultimate use of the property will be determined by responses to the city’s marketing effort. That will be begin after the city gets authorization from the state to begin drawing down on the $2.8 million grant, Nardozzi said.
