Representatives of the Connecticut Department of Transportation were expected to begin meeting the week of May 27 with Stamford planning and traffic officials to discuss plans for a replacement parking garage at the city”™s train station.
State transportation officials say a final decision on the garage contractor and site of the new garage will likely not be rendered for at least several more weeks as the evaluation process wraps up.
A May 23 update on the project from the DOT offered the clearest glimpse to date of what the project could entail, but still left a number of unanswered questions.
In the update, the DOT said the proposals “that are most responsive” to the criteria of a July 2012 request for proposals (RFP) for the replacement of the Stamford Transportation Center”™s original, 727-space garage would have the new garage situated “adjacent to the station” with “direct access to railroad platforms using largely sheltered walkways and bridges.”
Additionally, the DOT said the best proposals call for the current DOT garages at the train station, which are adjoining, to remain “fully in service” during the three-year replacement project.
However, a DOT spokesman stopped short of explicitly saying that the new garage would not be built on the footprint of the garage that is being replaced.
Spokesman Kevin Nursick said he could not provide any more detail other than what was contained in the DOT update as to when a decision might be made, but did confirm that it was behind schedule.
In December, an official told the Business Journal that DOT, which owns the garages, had hoped to select a contractor for the new garage by the end of 2012.
The eventual project could include office, residential and/or retail components, according to the RFP. The RFP stipulated that the new garage only had to be built within a quarter-mile of the station, and left open the possibility of a commercial development on the site of the current garage.
In its May 23 update, the DOT said that “any development on private property would be subject to city zoning and planning requirements.”
Joseph McGee, vice president of public policy for the Business Council of Fairfield County and member of a five-person advisory committee tasked with offering its input on the garage replacement plans, characterized the meetings between DOT and city officials as a “very positive” step.
“We (the advisory group) felt really strongly that the DOT needed to meet with city planning and traffic officials to ensure that the size and scope of this project was fully understood by the city,” McGee said.
