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Danbury officials consider sale of City land to Buck family

A committee of the Danbury City Council has held a meeting about a possible land sale.  The City asked for proposals from developers for 13 acres off Old Ridgebury Road and received a more than $3 million offer from the Buck family.  Peter Buck, founder of the Subway sandwich shops, recently donated millions of dollars to Danbury Hospital. 

 

The proposed small building for warehouse storage would be a low intensive use for the property.  No contingencies were placed on the sale.  The Council will discuss how the City can still use some of the property.

 

Mayor Mark Boughton says this is an opportunity to put a piece of property back on the tax rolls, help grow the grand list and mitigate any need for property tax increases.  Boughton says the City has to get creative in how Danbury generates revenue so property taxes won't have to rise.

 

Some Council members in the past have said they would like to see Danbury hold on to the property in case the City needs it for a municipal use in the future.  But Boughton says they've analyzed school needs through 2020 and the City doesn't expect to have a big increase in enrollment.

 

The owner of the Matrix Corporate Center was looking to build a retail center on the site in 2012, but the deal never came to fruition.  That potential sale was going to fill a $3 million hole in the city's budget.  Greenwich Developer Paul Foley previously sought to build a small movie theater, retail center, loft apartments and a cafe on the site.  Several years before that there was a proposal to build a minor league baseball park on the land.

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Brian Kilmeade

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