A proposal to redevelop an abandoned building in West Haven into apartment units is gaining traction after it sat empty for over a decade.
The City of West Haven is looking to redevelop a former high school building that has been abandoned for decades.
The former Stiles School is located at 561 Main St.
Earlier this week, the city accepted a developers proposal to build 30 market rate apartment units with potential for retail space on the ground floor and a new top floor.
“What we like about this proposal is that it's preserving the existing building and remodeling it, where all the other proposals were to knock down the building,” Mayor Dorinda Borer said.
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Borer said previous administrations have tried to redevelop the building but for different reasons, those proposals have fallen through.
“A project of this size there is always a concern for environmental so that was a concern with this building so we had an environmental assessment completed, any developer that's going forward is also going to do its due diligence, that could be one of the reasons that it fell apart in the past, I know there’s been a number of attempts in the past three administrations," Borer said.
Borer said she is feeling confident this project will move forward and will be highly beneficial for the city.
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“Its going to be great for the city because we’re going to realize over $400,000 in revenue, not to mention the building, the permit fees and the taxes it's going to generate for the city," she said.
City council member Brian Laucks agreed with the mayor’s vision to redevelop the building.
“I truly believe that I speak on behalf of all council members, we’re thrilled,” Laucks said.
Laucks has lived a couple of houses away from the school for decades and said he’s seen the building become dilapidated over the course of the years.
“We’re happy to see that some of these abandoned buildings that have potential are being developed,” Lauks said.
City officials said the building’s location will be ideal to attract new commuting residents with its close proximity to the West Haven train station.
