Derby downtown demands action

4/20/07
Amid plenty of happy talk about a Naugatuck Valley revitalization, there remain plenty of caveats, and Derby tops the list. Connecticut’s smallest city wants desperately to take part in the development party, but yet another setback in the never-ending downtown debacle raises, again, new questions.
Mouths were agape last week when it was revealed that the city faces a $45 million shortfall in its deal with a contractor for downtown work — a gap that must be filled before construction can begin. City officials now face the prospect of somehow raising more money or, more likely, making wholesale changes to a plan all parties involved have agreed upon.
The project, to include condominiums and apartments, retail shops, restaurants, office space, a movie theater and a parking garage on the south side of Main Street, is projected to cost in the neighborhood of $228 million. But even after factoring in the developer’s share, a federal grant for work on Route 34 and money from a special taxing district, the city remains in a huge hole.
Derby residents can be forgiven for simply rolling their eyes at this latest stumbling block; the downtown revitalization has basically been one giant setback from the beginning. From the crumbling buildings marring the property to the lengthy fight to clear debris from the demolished structures, this has been a study in false promises. And with reconstruction plans, and money, flowing into neighboring communities, the embarrassment is growing.
Mayor Anthony Staffieri, after a meeting with the development team last week, reiterated that officials "all like the plan," and are "looking to tweak it in a way so that the numbers work." Great. Work on those numbers. But you don’t "tweak" your way out of $45 million. That kind of money demands drastic action.
City officials will insist that the gap is actually smaller than the one presented by the developer, and will no doubt try to convince the state to put in more for infrastructure work. But they must know that costs are only going to rise from here — without reducing the size of the project, they can’t expect the price tag to go down.
At this point, after all the broken promises and delayed glory, the city needs to get a deal done and break ground, and soon. People’s patience can eventually wear out, and there’s an election this fall that just might prove that.