Paul Bass Pre-Pandemic File Photo
Neighbors Lee Cruz and Christel Manning outside the empty school.
Three years after its last failed attempt, the city is gearing up again to find someone to redevelop the vacant former Strong School — this time by extending the vision of change to the surrounding “district.”
The latest plan revealed the revived revival effort to 40 neighbors gathered for the monthly meeting of the Fair Haven Community Management Team, led by recently elected Co-Chair Lee Cruz.
Cruz and his neighbors have long sought revival of the abandoned circa 1916 school at Grand Avenue and Clinton Avenue. They also played a key role in opposing the plan of the city’s previous chosen redeveloper.
The city has been trying on and off since 2010 to find someone to revive the decaying 33,000 square-foot three-story historic gem to bolster the revival of that stretch of Fair Haven.
Cruz announced at the Thursday evening Zoomed CMT meeting that the city has $35,000 in state and local funds to support a “re-visioning” plan for the school and the blocks surrounding the fine pile of bricks on the curve of Grand Avenue as it descends toward the Quinnipiac River.
City Plan Assistant Director for Comprehensive Planning Keith Lawrence was on hand to tell the assembled Fair Haveners that a city RFP (Request for Proposal) seeks urban planning and architectural consultants to come up with a feasibility and marketing study “for the school and surrounding district.”
That study will explore what kinds of services and facilities that critical corner of Fair Haven should support. Feeback was solicited in two community engagement sessions that Cruz and a local committee put together in 2018 and 2019.
The effort has grown out of the group’s involvement with city economic officials to find a developer for an adaptive re-use plan for the long-vacant school.
The city previously rejected as unfeasible the group’s own plan to convert the Strong School into a non-profit arts center with live/work apartments . Then in 2016 and 2017 a New Milford-based developer’s proposed 32 “micro apartments” plan gained no local traction after he butted heads with neighbors over his track record, his vision, and his community commitment.
Grassroots revisioning sessions ensued. With buy-in from the city, and in partnership with a steering committee, the selected respondent to the RFP will come up with a plan in about four months, said Lawrence.
Once that plan is created, then another RFP, based upon it, will be issued to solicit developers to fulfill the vision.
“This is a surprisingly large district,” said Fair Havener Mark Firla. “It looks much broader than the Strong School and adjacent properties.”
“The district reflects the area the community says should be in the market study, and it’s a direct reflection of the steering committee,” replied Lawrence.
“The success of this building is dependent on the success of the for-profits and not-for profits in the neighborhood,” added Cruz.
They both said there is ample room on the committee steering the process for more members.
The RFP, including maps of the area and other materials shown in the presentation, is expected be available on the City Plan site this week.