THE ISSUE Darien’s plan to capitalize on a redevelopment trend has backfired, and now it doesn’t know what to do with land it owns.

OUR VIEW City officials must be more flexible in their approach to redeveloping the Triangle, realizing they may not get everything they want.

Speak up
What should Darien officials do with the 2.5 acres of property the city owns at 75th Street and Cass Avenue? Comment on this editorial at mysuburbanlife.com or e-mail us at opinions@mysuburbanlife.com.

The real estate market that has crushed so many dreams in this recession has taken yet another victim.

The city of Darien has for the past several years been purchasing land at the Triangle, which consists of 2.5 acres of property at 75th Street and Cass Avenue. It houses 10 storefronts in a strip mall. City officials wanted to follow other towns in obtaining land, seeing it redeveloped, and reaping the benefits of increased sales tax revenue in the coming years.

The city solicited redevelopment plans for the site. Officials wanted a mixed-use development that incorporated public green space as well as commercial and residential components.

Darien officials believed that finding just the right developer with just the right plan would launch this site into a thriving downtown. So, they eventually spent $5.5 million in hopes of initiating a redevelopment blitz that would pay rich dividends.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. Members of the City Council rejected resubmitted proposals two months ago by both the Gammonley Group and Bradford Real Estate Cos. during a goal-setting workshop.

Now, the city has possession of a site with an increasing number of vacancies and no real plan for attracting developers or tenants. Officials floated a plan to have an anchor tenant construct a structure at its expense on the city-owned land and then lease the property from the city for up to 25 years. Richard Gammonley of the Gammonley Group has told City Council members that it’s not a good plan.

The city has now taken on the responsibility of serving as landlord to the tenants still at the site. Each time a tenant packs it in, the city loses money. Officials have no clue as to how they’re going to make money or break even on this deal.

This process worked well for some municipalities, but Darien played the odds and lost. Officials seemed too selective when reviewing the redevelopment plans they previously had.

They should put another call out for plans to redevelop the site, but they should remain flexible. They may not get everything they want, and they may even end up losing some money on the deal. But they must get what they can for the property, and this calls for being more open-minded about what’s being offered.