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Connecticut city pins hope on project

By John Dube

If local and state government and private investors pull it off, a long-depressed waterfront area in Bridgeport, Conn., will be transformed over the next five years into a major shopping and entertainment destination with multistate drawing power.

Bridgeport, which is Connecticut's largest city, is also its most economically depressed, having suffered the decline and loss of much of its industry.

The Conroy Development Co. of Greenwich, Conn., has been selected to develop the $1 billion proposed project on a vacant 25-acre parcel along the eastern edge of Bridgeport Harbor. Conroy has built large-scale, mixed-use retail and entertainment projects in Providence, R.I., Norfolk, Va., White Plains, N.Y., and Pittsburgh.

Bridgeport Harbour Place is designed to be a major East Coast attraction that will boast hotels, restaurants, ballrooms, banquet facilities, factory outlet shopping, entertainment venues, a museum and a full-service marina. The showpiece of the oceanside development would be a 600-foot-long permanently docked ocean liner serving, among other uses, as a hotel, restaurant and nightclub.

"This is going to generate an enormous amount of interest, and it's the kind of facility that will have a lot of family appeal," predicted Alex Conroy, president of Conroy Development. "It will definitely be a tourist destination because there's nothing else like it between Boston and Washington, D.C.

"I could see families from Boston on their way to Washington stopping here to take advantage of the waterfront. There will be two or three choices at a minimum for each member of the family. It will also be a base from which people can explore other destinations in the area."

About half of the 2 million square feet in the development is expected to be retail space, which developers see as the primary draw. The core piece of the retail strategy will be off-price branded merchandise and factory outlet stores, according to Mr. Conroy. The project will include eight anchor stores and superstores for records and books.

Many of the stores would be located in a large retail center, but others will be located in shingled, New England fishing village-type buildings right on the water's edge.

While the plans were first unveiled months ago, no tenants have yet been signed, Mr. Conroy said.

Some of Connecticut's wealthiest communities are just a stone's throw from Bridgeport. But Mr. Conroy said Bridgeport Harbour Place will not compete with shopping centers or malls in those nearby towns and cities because it will offer high-end merchandise at discount prices.

"This is a different type of market," he said. "I see people coming from a greater distance and spending more time here than they would at a mall."

The site is located directly across the harbor from a refurbished ferry terminal that links Bridgeport with Port Jefferson, N.Y. Plans call for building new docks and a marina, which will allow cruise ships to dock and embark from the complex.

Before plans can get very far off the ground, however, the developers are looking to procure about $200 million in state and local funding. With the project's sponsors predicting it will generate approximately $20 million in annual property tax revenues for a city struggling to bounce back economically, local support is not expected to be an issue. In fact, Bridgeport has dedicated $13 million of a recent bond issue to costs associated with the development.

Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland has pledged his support for the project as well. But the state legislature will have to give its blessing to any outlay of state money. At presstime, the state legislature had not acted to approve any funding.

For its part of the investment, Conroy Development lined up Atlanta-based ERE Yarmouth as a joint venture partner. Yarmouth's Retail Group manages investments comprising more than 80 million square feet in more than 100 shopping centers nationally. The Retail Group provides direct property management services to 52 shopping centers totaling more than 42 million square feet and supervises separate client portfolios of retail assets valued at more than $800 million.

Mr. Conroy said the idea to take on the project was his, but he asked Yarmouth to be a partner because of its economic resources and funds, and also because he has known the people there for many years. Bridgeport Harbour Place is, however, the first collaboration between the two companies.

"This is a unique opportunity, when you have waterfront property in a city of this size," said Ken Hocker, vice president of development for ERE Yarmouth. "And this is really a great opportunity for the city of Bridgeport. This project will turn the area into a major hub of activity that will also help surrounding properties and the entire region."

Of course, a hub of activity also means a potential traffic beehive, which represents one potential snag for the retail/entertainment complex. When a Bridgeport casino proposal was defeated in the legislature a year earlier, traffic was one of the concerns raised by legislators from nearby towns. Nearby Interstate 95 is a major commuter corridor from Connecticut into New York City, and it already carries very heavy traffic.

But the developers don't believe that traffic concerns will seriously injure a development that will bring 12,000 construction jobs and 7,000 permanent new jobs to the city.

"I don't believe this is going to generate a lot more trips on I-95," said Mr. Hocker. "Most of the people who will be using this road are already passing by the site every day."

Before the project can proceed, it will need a certificate from the State Traffic Commission because of its size and potential impact. An application has not been filed yet, said Walter Coughlin, engineering administration, state Department of Transportation.

To obtain state sign-off, the developers will have to commission a traffic study that looks at the potential impact of traffic from the development on a wide area. They may also have to agree to pay for numerous road improvements.

Plans for the project already include some upgrades to local roads, Mr. Conroy said. But he said, he is hopeful that an alternative transportation approach will help prevent an increase in traffic that is too burdensome for local roads and interstates. High-speed passenger ferry service is planned out of Bridgeport Harbour Place, which will be capable of delivering commuters to and from New York's Wall Street in about one hour. Water taxis also will shuttle shoppers to and from other sites throughout the region.

A $35 million transportation center is also in the planning stages to replace the nearby bus and train stations, and link up with the ferry service. This is expected to make it easier to get to Bridgeport and its waterfront attractions.

In addition to the large retail presence, Harbour Place's attractions also will include a 400-room, full-service hotel; a 250-room suites hotel; and a 400-room, full-service hotel in the ocean liner -- all serviced by a regional conference facility. A ballroom onsite would be one of the largest in the county.

The center also plans to establish a museum showcasing the maritime history of Bridgeport. A wooden boat maintenance and restoration facility is planned near the marina facilities, where craftsmen will display their skills in full view of the public.

Entertainment in the complex will include restaurants, galleries, movie theaters, an
IMAX screen, fitness facilities and an outdoor amphitheater. The complex also would include about 700,000 square feet of office space.

After additional property is acquired, the project is expected to fill 52 acres of waterfront property.

"Nobody has a site like this on the water," Mr. Conroy said. "The water is our real differentiating factor. It's a big competitive advantage, and we're very excited about it."