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PROPOSED: Harbor Point Development


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I wish we could get this guy interested in Hartford... What a home run project, nice mixed use development on the shore near mass transit and a brownfield redevelopment.

Antares plan comes into view

STAMFORD - Zoning Board members last night got their first official look at a plan to turn 82 acres of former industrial land in the South End into four new neighborhoods, with 4,000 homes.

View the full Stamford Advocate article here

Renderings

Developer's Website

Edited by redbaron
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I wish we could get this guy interested in Hartford... What a home run project, nice mixed use development on the shore near mass transit and a brownfield redevelopment.

Antares plan comes into view

STAMFORD - Zoning Board members last night got their first official look at a plan to turn 82 acres of former industrial land in the South End into four new neighborhoods, with 4,000 homes.

View the full Stamford Advocate article here

Renderings

Developer's Website

God, it's hard to even look at those. Beautiful. Would work in Hartford on a possibly smaller scale, yet so much apprehension to get anything even close to this built. Sigh....

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  • 3 weeks later...

Good job, I read this and failed to post it. Stamford right now has got 100% forward motion. If the rest of CT's cities could do what Stamford does, we'd be in great shape. That won't happen, of course, since most of the other cities don't have some of the huge advantages that Stamford has, but cities like Bridgeport and maybe New Haven could get going...

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  • 9 months later...

Antares plans waterfront hotel in Stamford

http://www.thestamfordtimes.com/stamford_t...20705470787.php

Antares Investment Partners are planning to build a 14 story, 115 room luxury hotel that will be right on the water in Stamford's south end district known as Harbor Point.

The hotel will include 55 condominium units on the upper floors, he said, two restaurants, a cafe, a wine bar, a fully equipped media center with 25 viewing seats, an art gallery, a fitness center, first class meeting rooms, a library, a roof deck with a pool and a full service spa.

I seriously wish East Hartford would fall away and become the Long Island Sound, and Hartfords highways became a subway system :P

Stamford is turning into some place isnt it?

it will be interesting to see how much the fabric of the city changes as all of these projects get built and fill up

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  • 3 months later...

I've only been through Stamford a few times, being in the polar opposite end of the state, but when I do go through there I'm truly amazed. I sometimes can't believe it's actually a part of this state.

Sorry to dredge up a comment from a few months ago, but what exactly impresses you about Stamford? I've always found the cityscape to be banal and its "skyscrapers" to have the worst kind of stubby office park-type designs.

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Sorry to dredge up a comment from a few months ago, but what exactly impresses you about Stamford? I've always found the cityscape to be banal and its "skyscrapers" to have the worst kind of stubby office park-type designs.

I'll admit that Stamford doesn't have as much character or has buildings that are as aesthetically pleasing as the rest of New England's cities are. Stamford is a much newer city overall than Hartford, therefore doesn't have the various architectural styles seen over the years that Hartford does. However, take a look at all the projects that are going on in Stamford and in Lower Fairfield County. Office parks, hotels, condos, etc... And then look at all the companies that are moving into and around Lower Fairfield County. It's arguably the best thing going on between New York and Boston.

How many times has it been now that some major company relocates to Bloomfield, Windsor, or some other suburb dragging a few hundred jobs out of downtown Hartford? Stamford proper at the moment just seems economically stronger than Hartford proper. And while Stamford's development may not be attractive, at least it's something.

I'm sure if we had a few members here from Stamford/Norwalk area ... this section could be busier than Hartford's. Hartford is just blessed here with a larger membership.

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I'll admit to only driving through it and by it, but the vibe I got was definitely not "urban." I will make sure to check it out in detail over the Summer. From the looks of it (Live Search) there are some cool areas around Bedford/Atlantic St., Summer St., and Main/Bank St.

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I would love it if we had a few Stanford members. and some from the rest of CT for that matter.

I try and keep posting news in these sections, but It is not really my thing. I know there is one guy from Stamford on skyscrapercity. He posts a ton of stuff and I know its just part of whats up.

how do we get more members from those areas over here. there must be another site that people from this area uses

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I'll admit to only driving through it and by it, but the vibe I got was definitely not "urban." I will make sure to check it out in detail over the Summer. From the looks of it (Live Search) there are some cool areas around Bedford/Atlantic St., Summer St., and Main/Bank St.

Stamford is a much newer city than Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, etc... With that said, it will be different by feel and design to what we consider urban. It's more urban to a definition found in other parts of the country that have developed in the last 50-100 years.

I have been to downtown Stamford, but not for a while. Gotta get down there this summer (with the camera.) Friends of mine have told me there is some decent stuff down there and there is a good walkable section of the city.

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Actually Stamford is not that much newer than other cities in the state, it is just that its 1960's era urban renewal program actually worked and was able to capture a lot of major corporations and offices buildings that other cities did not. Historically Stamford was a much smaller city than Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport and lacked highrises downtown that the other cities had. Jay

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I was browsing Wikipedia on Stamford about this last night, indeed you are right. I knew something just didn't grow up there from overnight, something had to have been there in the first place.

According to Wikipedia, Stamford has gained 15k people in just the last 15 years, and over the last century nearly 100k. Source.

Edited by Lowerdeck
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Stamford is a much newer city than Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, etc... With that said, it will be different by feel and design to what we consider urban. It's more urban to a definition found in other parts of the country that have developed in the last 50-100 years.

In America this means modernist ideas of space and car-centric development - in Stamford this means fat, stubby office towers with behemoth parking garages and squat residential towers abutting stupidly placed plazas (or worse, more parking). There is a walkable/urban part of Stamford - I was just there on Friday on my way to visit New York - but it is largely prewar.

Of course (barring New Haven) it's not that other CT cities are any better.

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  • 1 month later...

<H1 class=articleTitle id=articleTitle>not sure why this is even worth it, but these guys seem to be continually growing this project rather than cutting back like most developments in the US at this time.

WOW

Antares wants to make housing deal</H1>By Magdalene Perez

Staff WriterArticle Launched: 07/30/2008 02:59:59 AM EDT

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STAMFORD - Antares is exploring a deal that would allow it to cash in on an additional six market-rate apartments in its massive South End Harbor Point redevelopment project while fulfilling a city requirement to provide 400 affordable residences.

Under the deal, the Greenwich-based developer would buy a newly renovated historic building containing six residences - five of them new townhouses, at 185 Henry St., according to Rick Redniss, a planning consultant for Antares.

Antares would pay the family-owned 185 Henry Street LLC slightly less than market rate for the apartments, now advertised at about $399,000 each, then sell or rent the units at about half of the market price. The deal would benefit Antares by allowing it to turn a greater profit on six of the 4,000 residences it has promised to build as part of its 80-acre Harbor Point project in the South End.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_1003909...ordadvocate.com

and

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_1001811...ordadvocate.com

<H1 class=articleTitle id=articleTitle>Harbor Point takes shape</H1>By Magdalene Perez

Staff WriterArticle Launched: 07/28/2008 02:36:25 AM EDT

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STAMFORD - When South End resident Ewelina Olejarz wakes up at 7 a.m., she is abruptly reminded that her neighborhood is about to be transformed.

"Everything starts to shake," said Olejarz, 31, who lives on Harbor Street. "It's all day."

The rumblings are a sign of the ambitious plans of Greenwich developer Antares, which is rebuilding 80 acres of the South End in its Harbor Point project. This month, Antares received the first foundation permits for two office buildings - an eight-story structure at Washington Boulevard and Atlantic Street, and a six-story one just to the south. On once-aging industrial strips, Antares envisions 4,000 apartments; more than 100,000 square feet of retail space, including a grocery store; a waterfront hotel; a South End "central park" at Walter Wheeler Drive; and a mile of waterfront trails. Other amenities will include a public dock, outdoor plaza and a waterfront restaurant.

just massive craziness. I hope it all works out down there in Stamford

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  • 1 month later...

Yeah, I live in Stamford, and it's exciting to see all of these new projects come about. But, there are several that are taking a while now to get off the ground. Largely due to the economy/credit crisis now going on. We'll see if the Ritz-Carlton gets built. It's slated to be 2 400 foot towers right in the heart of downtown Stamford.

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  • 1 year later...

I know a story about Starwood relocating to Stamford appeared elsewhere, but, since they are moving to the Harbor Point area, I thought I would add this link here:

http://www.bltoffice.com/press30.html

(It's from the developers website and worth it to nose around a bit because they are involved with a bunch of stuff.)

I don't know if this link has been posted yet:

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  • 2 months later...

Looks like this is about to get underway.

Hartford Courant

"The closing on these bonds marks the opening of a new era for the South End," said State Sen. Andrew J. McDonald, D-Stamford. "The improvements that will be constructed from these proceeds will form the basis of a great rebirth in the South End."

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Looks like this is about to get underway.

Hartford Courant

"The closing on these bonds marks the opening of a new era for the South End," said State Sen. Andrew J. McDonald, D-Stamford. "The improvements that will be constructed from these proceeds will form the basis of a great rebirth in the South End."

definately a good start. now, mind you 160 million is just a fraction of the larger project (3 billion) but you cant do the rest without these bonds. it means the market supports the development. 5 years from now this area should really be booming

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  • 1 year later...

There has been an awful lot of work done in the Harbor Point project area over the last few years and it looks like there may be three more buildings going up before long. The scale of this project is impressive, but I can't help but feel let down by the buildings themselves, sadly these renderings don't offer much hope that that will change.

My link

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I dont mind the tall one, thats fairly good looking.

but your point is well taken. in a place like Harbor point you are going to need a little charachter, and everything I have seen about every thing built planned or under construction completely lacks charachter. who knows, maybe that will come laterl, but I think its a common theme in these super large scale developments on a national level. The South Waterfront in Portland is the same way. and those buildings are actually attractive.

if you were to put the same 2000 housing units in center city stamford you would end up with a much more attractive and vibrant and desirable place because of its existing charahcter and to be honest, the chaos that is born from development over the last 200 years.

wiping the slate clean is not necessarily the best way to build a community. mind you in Stamford I bet this sterile kind of thing is a attractive alternative to may other NY suburbs. so it will do well.

btw, I do not care how ugly the buildings are, I will take all those buildings in downtown hartford in a heart beat. think about manhattan... how many buildings do you really know or care what they look like on the residential side? not many really, most people would be hard pressed to name 5 let alone 10 residential buildings let alone point them out. most are kind of bland and functional, but have fabulous interiors and lobbys. urbal living is more about exterior functionality and interior form.

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@Madvlad: Not to sound flip, but...you can have them! I hope the urban nature of this project will be awesome when it fills in, but the buildings themselves have been awful so far. (Which brings me to the next point.)

@TVoR: I do care what the buildings look like on the outside because, while I agree with your point about interior spaces, the exterior materials, massing and detailing, in addition to the public spaces the buildings create, DO add to the vibrancy of a streetscape. While I do not think every building needs to scream for attention, quite the opposite actually, I do feel there needs to be care taken in the crafting of a facade. People may not be able to name five buildings, but they can tell a crappy one when they see it.

BTW: I also agree with your point about large scale developments. It is my impression that one of two things (usually) happens: As you point out in Portland or Stamford, the developments often lack character. The second thing, as is happening in Norwalk, you put all your eggs in one basket and when that developer cant get anything off the ground, nothing happens. The three big developments in Norwalk have been in planning for more than twenty years, but nothing has come about. I feel if the city opened the redevelopment projects up to multiple developers you would not have to rely on a single entity raising $500 million or $1 billion dollars. That kind of money may be "easier" to get if you are Forest City, but the local guys...it doesn't seem to happen often. Who knows, if you open it up to more developers maybe there would end up being more character in the projects also.

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