Harbor Point (Stamford)

Harbor Point is an affluent redevelopment district located in the South End section of Stamford, Connecticut, in southwestern Fairfield County. It is made up of five distinct areas, each centered on a park or waterfront feature. The Stamford Advocate has called it "reportedly one of the largest redevelopment projects in the nation" and "the city’s fastest-changing neighborhood".[1] A transit-oriented, mixed-use development near the Stamford Transportation Center on Long Island Sound, Harbor Point includes more than 2,360 new apartments, with office space, restaurants, shops, marinas, a waterfront boardwalk, and several public parks.

Harbor Point has several new residential and office buildings, and many new restaurants and retailers including Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, mActivity Fitness Center, Design Within Reach, Subway, CVS Pharmacy, Harlan Social, Sign of the Whale, Fortina and others.[2]

While the redevelopment has drawn praise from many in the city for revitalizing what was once a declining industrial neighborhood, a number of South End residents have raised concerns about its displacement of long-time residents and smaller businesses, large property acquisitions by developers, and the proliferation of short-term residents characteristic of gentrification.[1]

Harbor Point Marina with many of the newly built Harbor Point offices and apartment buildings in the background.

Residential

The Lofts at Yale & Towne

By the 1890s, the Yale & Towne Lock Works had grown so large that it dominated the economy of Stamford at one point employing nearly 25% of the Stamford population. It would hold this position for over fifty years, during which time the city would be known as the "Lock City."[3] Today the Yale & Towne Lock Works factory has been upgraded, redeveloped, and retrofitted with the greenest technology and has been converted into The Lofts at Yale & Towne, owned and managed by Connecticut-based developer Building and Land Technology.

101 Park Place at 101 Washington Blvd.

101 Park Place opened in October 2010. "The 15-story development at 101 Washington Blvd. has 336 rental apartments in one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Known as Park Place, the building is named after an adjacent...4.5-acre public green space called Commons Park." The park has a fountain, a playground and concessions.[4]

111 Harbor Point at 111 Towne St.

111 Harbor Point is a 15 story, 228 unit residential tower that opened in 2013.

Beacon Harbor Point

Beacon Harbor Point is a 2 tower residential building reaching 22 stories each with 240 units total, that opened in 2015 overlooking Stamford Harbor.

Harbor Landing Apartments

Harbor Landing Apartments is a 2 tower residential building reaching 5 stories each with 218 units total.[5]

Retail and commercial

Harbor Point has a number of commercial locations, including a number of restaurants and waterfront attractions along the Rippowam River.[6]

Fairway Market

Connecticut's first Fairway Market, a New York metro area supermarket chain, opened its seventh and largest store—an 85,000-square-foot (7,900 m2) store at Market and Canal streets in Harbor Point in November 2010.[7] The Fairway Market was the first retailer to open in Harbor Point as part of the redevelopment.[7] The store closed in August 2020, resulting in 109 layoffs.[8] As of January 2022, no new tenants have moved into the building, which has been used as a Covid-19 testing site during the Covid-19 pandemic.[9]

Historic district
Main article: South End of Stamford

The South End Historic District covers a 177.1-acre (71.7 ha) area of the South End neighborhood including many areas in Harbor Point. The district includes 449 buildings, most dating from the 1870s to the 1930s, and also "an early naturalistic cemetery, and an iron bridge." Other notable buildings are Number 715 on Atlantic Street, a tenement building, and the Holy Name Rectory. The historic district includes the Pulaski Street Bridge, a wrought-iron lenticular through-truss bridge over the Rippowam River.[3]

Reception

The redevelopment of Harbor Point in the 21st century has drawn mixed reactions. Some have praised the project for bringing economic growth to a once economically disadvantaged part of Stamford,[1] whereas others have disputed the economic impact on the local community,[1] and have raised concerns about the quick pace of development and the affordability of the new housing built in the area.[1]

A 2018 article in the Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals praised the Harbor Point redevelopment for turning an area once "marked by pollution and high crime rates" into an environmentally-friendly transit-oriented development.[10] The COO of BLT, the main developer of the initial development known as Harbor Point, said that the initial project brought in 30 restaurants and created thousands of jobs.[10] The company has also highlighted the tax revenue the project has earned the city.[10]

A number of local homeowners have raised concerns about the frenzied pace at which developers, led by the area's main developer, BLT, acquired properties.[1] Others took issue with frequent attempts by BLT and other developers to purchase their own properties, as well as the allegedly low prices they offered.[1]

Another concern raised by local residents is that most housing built as part of the redevelopment can only be rented, instead of bought outright.[1] According to a 2018 article by the Stamford Advocate, the average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Harbor Point is about $2,000 per month.[1] Units designated as "affordable" by Harbor Point's main developer, BLT, went for an average of roughly $1,200 at the time of the article's publication, which some local residents have described as out of reach.[1]

Some long-time residents have lamented the number of short-term residents the redevelopment has brought, and suggested that the redevelopment's focus on rental units has not created a large amount of jobs in the area.[1] Residents of the redevelopment have hit back against claims that they're "not part of the community", saying that the area's recent changes have resulted in sizable economic growth. Some have also disputed claims of high turnover within the redeveloped units.[1] Some residents of Harbor Point have raised concerns about crime and street lighting in the surrounding areas.[1]

In addition, some building sites have been picketed by labor unions over alleged violations and unfair practices.[10]

Environmental group Soundkeeper sued the Stamford Zoning Board for what it charged was a violation of legally required compliances with environmental, coastal management and local zoning laws.[10] The case was dismissed in October 2018 by a state Superior Court judge.[10]

References
  1. Carella, Angela (2018-01-12). "Stamford's Harbor Point: City seeks to discern South End changes". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved 2022-03-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. NYtimes article, "Sprawling Development in Stamford is Filling Out" By Sana Siwolop, Dec. 8, 2010
  3. Nils Kerschus and John Herzan (August, 1985). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: South End Historic District". National Park Service.
  4. Stamford Advocate, Amid signs of a strong rental market, another housing complex at Harbor Point opens its doors By: Elizabeth Kim Published: Sept. 27, 2010
  5. Lytton, Barry (24 June 2018). "Harbor Point developer BLT expands footprint in Stamford". StamfordAdvocate. Stamford Advocate.
  6. "Harbor Point Retail". BLT Live Work Play. Archived from the original on 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  7. Kim, Elizabeth (2010-10-20). "New Fairway store signals area's revival". Stamford Advocate. Archived from the original on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  8. Schott, Paul (2020-08-20). "Fairwell: After months of going-staying notices, Stamford Fairway is gone". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  9. Del Valle, Verónica (2022-01-06). "Stamford launches new PCR COVID-19 testing site at former Fairway building". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved 2022-03-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. Zimmerman, Kevin (2018-12-23). "Stamford's Harbor Point at 10 years: Thumbs up from most stakeholders". Westfair Communications. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
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