Cara Baruzzi; Register Business Editor
NEW HAVEN - In the city's manufacturing heyday, it was the epicenter of the Winchester firearms company but a new vision is now guiding the redevelopment of Science Park-one that aims to bring apartments, retail, offices and additional lab space to the area. It's a vision that Science Park officials say finally is beginning to take shape, due largely to two recent developments.
"We're very excited about how we're positioned right now," said David Silverstone, president and chairman of Science Park Development Corp. The corporation owns all of the land and some of the buildings in Science Park, a massive tract along Winchester Avenue, between Division Street and Munson Street.
Massachusetts-based Winstanley Enterprises LLC recently bought the 266,000- square-foot building known as 25 Science Park, at Munson Street and Winchester Avenue, for $14.5 million. The seven-story office and lab building was renovated several years ago but currently has only three tenants - Higher One, Connecticut Innovations and Science Park Development Corp. - which together occupy about 10 percent of the space, said Carter Winstanley, the building's new owner.
Winstanley, who bought the building from California-based BioMed Realty Trust, said he is actively marketing it to tenants.
"I have a number of tenants who have already expressed interest," he said, including Yale University. He declined to give specifics, but said Yale has made a significant commitment to the site, which spurred him to buy the building in the first place.
A Yale spokeswoman declined comment. Winstanley's investment in 25 Science Park is encouraging, Silverstone said, particularly given Winstanley's success at another prominent New Haven research hub, 300 George St. Winstanley bought 300 George St. in 2000 when it was 95 percent vacant, and it is now fully leased, according to Winstanley.
As the owner of 300 George St., "I've spent a lot of time thinking about (25 Science Park) and what they've done well and what they haven't done well, "Winstanley said. Previous owners invested in high-quality renovations and lab infrastructure, he said, but they mistakenly tried to market the space to large-scale tenants. Instead, Winstanley plans to fill the building mainly with start-up technology and research firms, most of which typically want between 2,500 and 5,000 square feet of space, he said. In order to lure them, though, some changes are necessary.
"We need to bring some amenities to the site," he said, adding that he hopes to put a restaurant on the ground floor. Also, within the next year, he plans to raze a neighboring building and replace it with a parking garage to remedy the site's parking shortage.
As Winstanley focuses on filling 25 Science Park, officials at Science Park Development Corp. are optimistic that a group of buildings collectively known as Track A - a 7-acre site with 17 buildings totaling 800,000 square feet - will be the next property to have new life injected into it.
In September, the corporation issued a request for qualifications, soliciting developers interested in transforming the site into a mixed-use property. Science Park and city officials want the site converted mostly into apartments, with some retail and office space on the ground floor.
The set of buildings, collectively listed at 275 Winchester Ave., has been vacant since the early 1990s. It was once the original Winchester Repeating Arms plant, where 19,800 people worked at the manufacturer's peak in 1918.
The request for qualifications, which had an Oct. 17 deadline, garnered three "very serious proposals from three substantial entities," Silverstone said. Science Park officials hope to select a developer by spring, he said.
All three prospective developers subscribe to the mixed-use vision for the property, and each is willing to undertake the extensive environmental cleanup needed at the brown-field site, he said.
The environmental problems stem back to the property's days as a manufacturing hub. Olin Corp., which owned the Winchester brand, is legally obligated to bring the site up to commercial standards. It would then be the developer's responsibility to bring the property up to residential standards, which are much stricter, Silverstone said.
Science Park officials have met, and will continue to meet, with members of the neighboring Dixwell and Newhallville communities to get feedback on the project, he said. So far, they seem to be on board with the mixed-use concept, he said.
"There has obviously been a long history associated with this project," Winstanley said, referring to the fact that redevelopment has stalled there several times as properties have changed ownership over the years.
But now "there are some differences from the past," Silverstone said. Winstanley's investment, a changing mentality that embraces mixed-use real estate, and New Haven's overall revitalization are all working in Science Park's favor, he said.
Winstanley agreed that Science Park's time has come. "It really is finally starting to take root," he said.
Cara Baruzzi can be reached at cbaruzzi@nhregister.com or 789-5748.
