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The 'Jewel of the Region'
Much talk but no deal on West Haven biotech park
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Business New Haven
9/20/1999
By: BNH
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The city of West Haven and the newly-formed Regional Growth Partnership Development Corp. are working on a proposal that would transform the former Sursum Corda site on Route 34 in West Haven to a biotechnology campus.
"We're putting together a proposal to present to [the property owner]," says Mayor H. Richard Borer Jr.'s executive assistant, Douglas Cutler.
David Beckerman, owner and founder of the now-bankrupt Starter Corp. in New Haven, bought the 70-acre parcel in July for $2 million through a company called WHTR Real Estate LLP, according to city records.
Beckerman confirmed his ownership of the property, but says, "No specific plans have been brought to my attention" by the city or the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP).
"I did meet with Mayor Borer to talk about my plans for the property and, if asked, I would consider a variety of alternatives for it," Beckerman says. "I have also been approached by several parties about selling the land outright, and will evaluate all serious considerations for what I consider the jewel of the region."
According to Cutler, there are no buildings on the property, but the road system and utilities are all in place.
"The site was approved for development as a medical complex," Cutler says, "which is an approved use in the industrial planned development district. So it would be ideal for biotechnology."
The development corporation is an arm of the RGP, a subsidiary of the South Central Connecticut Regional Council of Governments (COG), a consortium of 15 area communities.
It was formed earlier this month to spearhead economic development projects in the region, according to RGP board Chairman John Crawford, and the Sursum Corda proposal "is a priority.
"The idea is to ignore municipal boundaries and bring projects to the region that would benefit the entire region, not necessarily a specific town or city," Crawford says.
The corporation will be funded by COG and the Regional Leadership Council, according to Crawford.
Crawford says those working on the proposal have also talked with University of New Haven officials in the wake of the college's recent alliance with Bayer Corp. in the area of medical and biotechnology education.
But why, if developing the site is "a priority," hasn't a proposal been presented to Beckerman? "We need to have something concrete to bring to Mr. Beckerman," Crawford says.
Such a project would be most welcome by the city, according to Cutler, not only because of the jobs it would generate, but because of the tax revenues it would produce.
Next door in Orange, town officials are working on plans to develop about 170 acres south of the Boston Post Road as an Enterprise and Technology Park they hope would likewise attract biotechnology firms.
Orange First Selectman Robert Sousa says he doesn't see a conflict with his town's plans and those of the RGP for the West Haven property because there's a need for this type of development throughout the region.
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