Westport exudes calm, but it is nobody”™s idea of a sleepy river town.
Over the past 20 years, the landscape has changed dramatically as new businesses move in and developers seek opportunities. For the first time this year, Westport started a master plan to structure the growth of businesses and developments in a town that has held onto its traditional colonial roots while giving the interior and exterior of businesses a facelift.
As First Selectman Jim Marpe takes office, revitalizing Westport”™s downtown is one of his top priorities, especially as developers and businesses look to invest and build again.
“With an upswing in the economy, we”™re seeing retailers and other types of business coming in and the appearance of the downtown is being upgraded and improved,” said Marpe, noting one goal of the downtown redevelopment projects is to improve Westport”™s nightlife with entertainment such as concerts and attractions.
Marpe, who took office in November after Gordon Joseloff”™s eight-year leadership term, said he has big shoes to fill, but he”™s already moving forward. He reconstituted Joseloff”™s vision of the Downtown 2020 Committee, a group of Westporters who supported producing a master plan that aligns with major projects planned for the town.
Marpe formed another committee that will lead the master plan project and hired RBA Associates to work with the first selectman”™s office, merchants and the planning and zoning commission. The master plan project could take six to eight months.
“My goal is to help the planning and zoning commission and those interested in developing the downtown create a roadmap that will help us maintain the character and feel that”™s unique to Westport”™s New England town and make sure we”™re building things to attract the kinds of business to the downtown that make sense for Westport,” said Marpe.
The master plan will address issues regarding parking spaces, pedestrian-friendly walkways, access to the Saugatuck River and lighting. By the summer, the downtown will have planted trees, erected antique-style gas lighting and repaved sidewalk curbs through a grant from the state”™s Main Street Investment fund, which totals $497,595.
In the springtime, Marpe plans to go store-to-store with Stephen Desloge, president of the nonprofit Westport Downtown Merchants Association, to hear what merchants have to say about how to drive business and foot traffic to the downtown.
Among the major projects planned for the town are the renovation of the Westport Library; construction of a downtown cinema; construction of a new Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts; and relocation of the Westport Arts Center to Jesup Green.
Bedford Square, a $40 million to $50 million project seeks to turn the town”™s historic Weston-Westport Family YMCA building on the corner of Church Lane and Main Street into a mixed-use development.
The joint venture in the Y by David Adam Realty and Charter Realty & Development Corp. includes creating 70,000 square feet of commercial space; 30,000 feet of restaurant space; and 26 residential units ranging from 550-square-foot studios to 1,800-square-foot, two-bedroom units. A proposed 100-car underground parking garage at the parking lot on Elm Street would connect the high-end shopping and dining on Main Street with the activity on Church Lane, increasing foot traffic.
The project, which has been approved, is anticipated to begin this year and be completed 20 to 24 months later, said developer David Waldman of David Adam Realty.
The Queen Anne-style Gunn property on Church Lane, which is on the same street as the YMCA, will be moved to the Baldwin parking lot on Elm Street. The $2 million renovation project will preserve the architecture of the building and create a space for mom-and-pop shops, offering more affordable rent for small businesses.
“We”™re trying to retain that flavor that people feel we lost as Main Street businesses have gotten more upscale,” said Dewey Loselle, chairman of the downtown steering committee of Westport. “The stores that had left couldn”™t afford rent anymore.”
Along Church Lane, Waldman introduced newly redesigned spaces for the Spotted Horse, a 3,400-square-foot restaurant that includes 2,100 square feet of office space upstairs; Urban Outfitters, an 11,572-square-foot contemporary clothing store; and Java Café to attract pedestrians to that street.
All along Main Street and Post Road, mom-and-pop shops are sharing space with trendy retailers, including national brands such as Tiffany & Co., Nike and Theory, while adding a dab of eclectic boutiques such as the Paris-based luxury perfumery Diptyque.
Desloge, owner and president of Rockwell Custom Framing L.L.C. on 235 E. Post Road, tells stories of how the town has maintained its character while repurposing some of its buildings rather than demolishing them altogether. Desloge, a Westport resident, opened that store in 2005 and has five more stores throughout Fairfield and one in Ridgefield.
On Post Road, historic buildings are being re-adapted. The old Westport Library is now Calypso, a national women”™s retailer. The former town hall is now home to Spruce, an upscale home and garden store. The former Westport Bank & Trust Co. is now Patagonia, a designer of outdoor clothing and gear. The post office is now Post 154, the town”™s largest high-end restaurant with a 4,650-square-foot main floor and a 4,200-square-foot lower banquet and party space, plus an outdoor patio.
The Westport Library, which stands on what used to be a landfill, will be completely renovated through a $20 million project this year. The vision is to expand the building to include an auditorium to add more evening events.
Behind the library, there”™s a multimillion-dollar renovation happening on the Levitt Pavilion, an outdoor theater space that will be rebuilt by this summer and open for artists, children”™s concerts and big band performers.
Across the river, the nonprofit Save the Children headquarters will move out this winter, opening doors for David Adam Realty and Greenfield Partners to invest in a multi-million project that could turn the 2.5 acre land into a mixed residential and commercial space. But Waldman said the details of the project have yet to be finalized.
The public plaza and new sidewalk adjacent to National Hall as well as the buildings surrounding it create a dining district across the river with restaurants including Moja, Japanese fusion; Bar Taco, Mexican; and Safita, Middle Eastern.
“What”™s unique about Westport is that we have strong cultural entities combined with a strong restaurant and retail scene combined with the character of our town,” Loselle said. “It”™s a very eclectic place, and we want to retain our small town character because people like that. We”™re trying to do that but at the same time change and develop.”
It’s great to see Westport moving in the right direction with new restaurants, retail and initiatives! It’s a great town!
I’ve had pictures framed at Rockwell. They are very professional and knowledgeable and recommended exactly the right size, shape and color of frames for my art!