CBIA Member Gets Nod to Develop Abandoned CT Transit Bus Depot

08.05.2015
Small Business

B2005CTTransitNewHavenAccording to an article in the New Haven Register last week, a committee of local New Haven officials and city staff chose CBIA member Digital Surgeons and Urbane New Haven LLC as the preferred developers to transform the former CT Transit bus depot into a home for local high-tech start-ups and young businesses, while also putting an emphasis on recreational access to the Mill River.

The city and state will work on a memorandum of understanding defining the deal, which is expected to cost $20 million.

The important state contribution, in the form of money to remediate the almost 7-acre parcel at 460 State St., will be negotiated, most likely within the $3.5 million to $5.5 million range.

The city picked the Digital Surgeons and Urbane New Haven over New York developer Jason Carter, whose vision was to bring in large entertainment and big-box retail with a 450-space garage at the closed bus depot that would provide the necessary parking for both parcels.

“It is a testament to the city and the direction it is going that we have two proposals as strong as they both were,” said Pedro Soto, who was chairman of the selection committee.

Soto also is chairman of the New Haven Development Commission and the CEO of Spacecraft, an aeronautics company in the Mill River District.

He said he has been involved in development issues for the past decade and “I can’t believe that we are even having proposals of this caliber.”

Soto said they went with the local team because it offered a development space that New Haven has not seen before and because of the businesses already lined up to move in. He characterized them as “fast growing and very dynamic groups.”

Both Digital Surgeons and CrossFit will move to 460 James St., as will LaunchCapital, a venture capital group in New Haven which has invested in more than 120 companies.

Jason Sobocinski, owner of Caseus and Ordinary in New Haven, will open a bistro featuring a beer garden at the former depot, Salinas said. He couldn’t name others at this point because they all have current leases.

Salinas said they want to be moved into a renovated 460 James St. within two years.

Picture above is the former CT Transit bus depot in New Haven. Arnold Gold: New Haven Register

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