A 4.3-acre hole that by has blighted the heart of downtown Stamford for 20-plus years has been sold.
The co-developers are Stamford-based F.D. Rich Co. and Hoboken, N.J.-based Ironstate Development Co. No figure was placed on the purchase, which capped two years of negotiations.
The Millstein Co. of Manhattan had been the owner for 20 years. In a circuitous coincidence noted by several dignitaries who presided over a next-door garage press conference that attracted 100, Millstein had bought the dug-out, but undeveloped, parcel from the F.D. Rich Co.
Construction is expected to begin within a year. The cost is pegged at “north of $100 million.”
The parcel”™s infamy as a hole in the ground has earned it many sobriquets, none flattering. Even the city called it “The Hole in the Ground” in announcing the sale. It was briefly considered for a wetland designation because it so often filled with puddles. Its official designation is Parcel # 38.
Early-stage plans call for 800 housing units and 50,000-60,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. There will be on-site parking.
Developers Thomas L. Rich, president and CEO of F. D. Rich, and David  Berry, president of Ironstate, declined to name a possible hotelier that might be interested, but plans call for a 150-room hotel. About half the site is to remain green.
Mayor Michael Pavia called the development, “the end of a decades-old blight” and the fulfillment of one the five most prominent concerns voiced by the electorate when he first won the mayor”™s seat in 2009. “I am proud to announce today the hole in the ground has been sold,” he said to applause.
