The developer of the Unilever property has filed two new applications for zoning changes that, if granted, will give the developer more flexibility to further develop the vacant property. A public hearing of the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) has been scheduled for Monday, Oct. 18.

At the Sept. 13 PZC meeting, the commission accepted two applications from the Unilever developer that if approved would allow for more flexibility in the Transit-Oriented Development Overlay District (TODO) zoning district where the property resides.

Consultant planner John Guszkowski explained why the owners would want the changes.

“I think the property owner and his attorneys are looking for both a bit more flexibility and a bit more clarity in the regulations for the TODO. They want to clarify the commercial uses described in the TODO regulations to be sure that the most likely tenants they’re pursuing would be obviously allowable,” said Guszkowski.

“They are also looking to create zero-lot line setbacks to that they can subdivide the property into several individual parcels, each with its own septic system. What this means is that buildings A and B, which are currently on the same parcel (and physically connected) could be divided into two separate parcels, with a property line separating the original 1929 Pond’s building from the large factory/warehouse building that was attached to its rear several decades later,” he further explained.

In a statement of use in the application, the developer Michael Massimino writes that he is seeking PZC approval to allow commercial, institutional, cultural, residential, municipal, artisan, light manufacturing and assembling, fulfillment center, research and development, laboratory, retail, office, restaurant, and brewery uses in the TODO.

“The applicant is requesting special exception approval for the enumerated uses generally and not for a particular user or a particular portion of a building, in order to provide it with the ability to respond promptly to prospective tenants in today’s competitive rental market. Tenants looking to locate at The Station at Clinton require a prompt, definitive response within a short time frame, which is incompatible with the time-frame required to develop and file a special exception application for each proposed tenant,” the document states in part.

This is the first application concerning the Unilever property that has been proposed in almost two years. In early 2020, Clinton residents were excited with the news that an application filed by 1 John Street Clinton, LLC, and developer Michael Massimino to build a 24,321-square-foot brewery and restaurant into a portion of the large former Unilever headquarters building on John Street had been submitted.

Though the public was largely supportive of the proposed project, the application was withdrawn in March 2020. Massimino vowed he would resubmit the brewery application again, but did not have a timeline.

The application for the brewery and restaurant application was pulled mostly due to a lack of a master plan for the entire building and concerns over the timeline needed for the state to review an application for historic building preservation. If granted, the historic building status could allow the developers to receive tax credits toward the project. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the summer of 2020.

Guszkowski pointed out that this application is for several potential uses, not one proposed use.

“I believe they have significant interest from a number of different potential tenants, but I couldn’t speak to the level of commitment that any of them have—I don’t have any specific information,” Guszkowski said.

The Unilever building had had nearly 100 years of history in Clinton before it closed its doors in 2012. Since then, there were several plans to redevelop me the property, but none ever came to fruition. In summer 2019, the property, which had been owned by Unilever, was sold to Massimino.

While there has been tremendous interest in the future of the property, ever since the brewery application was pulled there hasn’t been much in the way of visible progress on the site.

In early August there were again rumblings that the developer was back with more applications. Zoning Enforcement Officer Kathy King told the Harbor News she and Guszkowski had conceptual conversation with Massimino on Aug 3.

Town Council Chair Chris Aniskovich said that Massimino has been in regular conversation with the town all along and requested patience when it comes to developing the property.