CT DOT Selects ‘Preferred Developer’ for Stamford TOD Project

After months spent evaluating proposals, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) announced its selection of Stamford Manhattan Development Ventures, LLC (SMDV) as the “Preferred Developer” for the transit-oriented development (TOD) project at the Stamford Transportation Center. 

SMDV is a venture comprising the JHM Group of Companies, Ciminelli Real Estate Corporation, ECCO III Enterprises and the Gilbane Company, according to the news post on the DOT website. The DOT is now negotiating the formal plan of design and construction to transform the Transportation Center into a complex of commercial, residential and retail development.

The Department expects to complete negotiations and sign a contract with SMDV this fall, and, according to the news release, construction would begin in the spring of 2014. 

New parking would be constructed and in service within three years of the contract, and the rest of the development would be completed in phases over the next few years, according to the DOT release.  

The DOT anticipates that the project will total in excess of $500 million and that the State of Connecticut will contribute $35 million in bonds specifically for parking facilities. Debt and equity financing for the balance of the cost of the project will be provided by SMDV.

As presently envisioned, the TOD will include approximately 600,000 square feet of commercial office space, 60,000 square feet of street level retail space, a hotel with approximately 150 rooms and about 150 residential units, according to the release and parking will continue to be available in the two existing garages during construction and the number of commuter parking spaces available during construction will not change. 

The new parking spaces will be provided among three sites: Station Place, South State Street and Manhattan Street. All have direct access to station platforms and are within a quarter-mile from the station.

The selection of SMDV was made with the support of the Stamford TOD Advisory Committee, according to the release. The Advisory committee was appointed last year to work with the DOT on the project. 

In 2012 the DOT issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the project to:

• Replace the aging 727-space original parking garage that services the Stamford Transportation Center with low maintenance, long service life facilities that accommodate a minimum of 1,000  spaces
• Expand the availability of parking and improve multimodal traffic, bicycle and pedestrian flow around the Stamford Transportation Center andStation Place
• Minimize the public costs for construction and ongoing operations and maintenance of the parking facilities serving the Stamford TransportationCenter by promoting TOD, which leverages and enhances the multimodal public transportation services provided by the Stamford Transportation Center