The redevelopment of Hamden’s upper State Street commercial corridor continues apace with the remediation and rehabilitation of 2259 State Street — one of “the great real-estate turnaround stories in Hamden in 2018-19,” according to Hamden Economic Development Director Dale Kroop.
The site that once housed retailer Stereo Station had been idle for more than a decade. After the owners died the property was abandoned and blighted, and the town assumed ownership in 2017, Kroop said.
The Hamden Economic Development Corp. (HEDC) assumed management of the project and in 2018 issued a request for proposals to redevelop the parcel. Following the selection of Peter Saldemarco to redevelop the site, a development agreement was negotiated last fall to repurpose the property as an automobile dealership.
Work on the project began in October; demolition and remediation will continue throughout the winter.
“We are seeing progress toward a rehabilitated Quonset hut and a tax-producing property again,” said Kroop. “We have procured a developer/business who will repurpose it as a car dealership called Value Auto. Projects like this are exactly what the corporation was intended for.”
“The redevelopment of this unique structure is a great sign of investment in Hamden’s main east side corridor,” said Hamden Mayor Curt Balzano Leng. “State Street has great businesses and residential locations, most of which are well maintained, but certain blighted parcels were harming the property value of others.
“This is the revitalization we strive for when working to redevelop a parcel and something we can be proud to have been part of,” Leng added.
Contact Michael C. Bingham at mbingham@newhavenbiz.com
