Mr. Stamford
The Authoritative Blog on Stamford Connecticut
Puttin’ up the Ritz (new guest contributor)
Author: jr8 Mar
Hi everyone! I’m JR, a new contributor to the Mr. Stamford blog. I live and work in this beautiful city, and I’m keenly interested in Stamford’s, economy and development. I also love Stamford’s dining scene and exploring everything the city has to offer.
For my first post, I thought I’d share a discovery I made the other day. I spotted this sign across the street from the Rich Forum:
That’s right, it looks like they’re finally going to tear down that awful deserted block next to the Atlantic Street post office. It’s about time they got started on turning this
into this!
Granted, I won’t be able to afford a room in the hotel, let alone one of the luxury condos, but I’ll still be thrilled to see a first-class housing and retail development in Stamford. White Plains has one in the City Center, so why not Stamford? It’ll bring in mucho tax dinero and help lure more people to live and work here, which only makes the city more vibrant and fun. You can bet the Rich Forum can’t freakin’ wait for this place to fill up. It’s also nice that no one is being relocated or eminent domained to make room for this.
Of course some people are against the gutting and repurposing of the post office building, and some are against the demolition of the post office addition, but these don’t bother me. For one thing, the building isn’t that old. If this were an 1860s Pony Express depot, then it would be a different story. Secondly, at least they’re not pulling a Penn Station and bulldozing the whole thing. Most developers wouldn’t hesitate to raze a building that’s only 70 years old; you have to give these guys credit for respecting Stamford’s past and absorbing it into the project.
And now, just for fun, some other views of this fabulous project:
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Recent Comments
- C Harris: Looks like the property has
- lisa11: I also love the connecticut
- Marcelo: If you want the best
- PT: Ah, now I know the
- JP Cavagnani: I would like to spend
- JP Cavagnani: It is really annoying, I
- mamajaye: MammaJ doesn't know what she's
- anon: Five units have already closed.
- Yoann: Well, no much activties so
- Steve Daniels: I've been looking at Palmer
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7 Responses for "Puttin’ up the Ritz (new guest contributor)"
Did you kidnap Mr. Stamford, or just slip some crack or something in his morning coffee?
Have to say, I’m glad for the info on the new construction but I don’t read this blog because of it’s relentlessly postive outlook. It’s kind of like Larry King suddenly sounding intelligent, or Regis Philbin going all hip and modern… or Richard Simmons acting macho…it just…does…not…compute.
Haha!
What can I say? I’m a positive guy, and I’m excited about Stamford’s future. But don’t worry, I’ve got my gripes, too…stay tuned.
welcome, JR. Glad to have another Stamford blogger out there…especially one who is positive!
And as someone who has blasted Mr. Stamford for his negativity (Mr. Snobford he should be called) I gotta confess that I really hate this design….and I’m definitely one of the people who basically thinks that we ought to be pressing every one of the legislators from Stamford to change state law so that Stamford can take the Hole in the Ground by eminent domain and build something there. And until we do that, nothing else should be built.
Call me a curmudgeon, but the fact that they took the pocket park next to Target when we have so little green yet the hole in the ground is still there for more than two decades is outrageous.
I feel bad for the folks in St. John’s Towers whose homes will be dwarfed by these awful huge skyscrapers. For the streets that will be darkened by their shadows. And for the utter lack of scale or design sense that went into them.
Nothing built while the hole sits is alittle extreme don’t you think?
Did you ever see anyone ever in the Target pocket park?
East Sider: Don’t worry, I do have complaints, but I also like some of what’s going on in Stamford.
I don’t mind the design and scale of the Ritz project. White Plains and New Rochelle - cities comparable to Stamford - have high-rise projects. Why shouldn’t we? I don’t think the towers will block that much sunlight - it’s not like they’re putting up city blocks full of skyscrapers.
I think Stamford should aim high, despite the protests of people who write letters to the Advocate bemoaning the loss of “good old Stamford.” You can’t live in the past, especially one that’s looong gone. (I do, however, dislike the loss of Main Street to the mall complex. I’m sure the view from the steps of Old Town Hall was much nicer before that ugly brown mess was plopped there.)
Like you said, I also wish that they could do something to force the sale or development of the hole. They’ve used eminent domain to remove blighted buildings, so I wonder if there’s a way to apply it to undeveloped sites.
I saw the late Frank Rich at a development forum not long before he passed away. He said that the hole was at one point going to be the site of an extension of the mall; he also said the reason it sits empty is because the landowners don’t care about Stamford. I have to say that I agree with that sentiment.
The pocket park was always a placeholder for the Trump Parc building. I do think it’s funny that the millionaires living in TP will be living next door to Target, where we plebians shop for, well, TP.
I just re-read my comment, and I should clarify that I agree with Frank Rich’s sentiment about the hole’s landowners, not the landowners’ lack of care for Stamford!
Just want to mention that the original post office was built in 1916 with the backend addition having gone up in 1930’s. While I do like sleek looking buildings, I think destroying parts of buildings that reflect the last vestiges of real craftsmanship is a crime. An old and very smart acquaintance of mine put it succinctly–”How can you know where you are going if you don’t remember where you’ve been”?
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