The Danbury City Council is considering tax breaks to develop a long-abandoned parcel of land downtown. A committee was named Tuesday to review the tax deferral program that has expired for the Kennedy Place site and consider offering it to the new buyer. A national company has been in negotiations with current owner, BRT.
In 2007 a tax deferral was being offered for 589 units on the lot.
The new developer would like to modify the current proposal by reducing the number of housing units and develop luxury apartments at the site. The Mayor says as a priority in the Main Street Revitalization Plan, market rate housing downtown will be a high driver in spinning off economic development along Main Street.
Resident Ken Gucker expressed some concerns. He says tax breaks for a company filling the space would be more palatable. But for a residential developer with families coming in using City services, Gucker says it's a slippery slope. He says another concern is that no plans have been submitted yet, so there's no way of knowing how many units will be built.
Some Council members tried to reverse the tax deferral offer to BRT for a Crosby Street development, but were unsuccessful because it was written so loosely. The building was originally proposed for middle and low income housing, but is now mostly filled with WCSU students.
