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12/02/2022 01:33 PMAn application from the owner of the former Unilever property seeks to change the zoning of two adjacent properties that the applicant hopes will make the property easier to redevelop. A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 12.
The application seeks to add two properties adjacent to the site to the Transit Oriented Development Overlay District (TODO). The properties are located at 7 Central Avenue and 20 North High Street respectively, and they are not the main Unilever building which is located at 1 John Street.
The application is listed as filed by 10 North High Street LLC, R&R Clinton Ventures III LLC, 20 North High Street Associates LLC, and R&R Clinton Ventures IV LLC; and the description of the application is “to amend the zoning map to change the zone of both properties to Transit Oriented Development Overlay District (TODO) in order to expand the existing TODO zone and to update the Master Plan for the Station at Clinton.”
As defined in the town’s zoning regulations, “(t)he purpose of the Clinton Station TODO is to create a new, mixed-use, transit-friendly, walkable, concentrated development that adds both residential and commercial vitality to Clinton Center, connects to surrounding neighborhoods and historic areas, and leverages both the presence of the Clinton Train Station and the existing Unilever structures as focal points.” The zone can be applied only to properties of more than 10 acres that are located within a quarter mile of the train station.
The allowed uses in the zone include permitted uses are commercial, institutional, cultural, residential, municipal, indoor recreation, artisan, and light manufacturing. Mixed uses, including live-work units, are allowed both across the total site development plan and within individual buildings.
In the summer of 2019, Clinton residents were surprised with the news that the vacant Unilever headquarter building and surrounding lots had been purchased. Several of the lots were sold to Clinton Realty Associates, LLC, while others were sold to R&R Clinton Ventures, LLC, Clinton Ventures II, LLC, and Clinton Ventures III, LLC. Richard G. di Girolamo is listed as the principal of Clinton Ventures while Clinton Realty Associates lists Michael Massimino as its principle.
Since then while there has been tremendous excitement about the development of the property, progress has been a bit slow.
In early 2020, Massimino filed an application via 1 John Street Clinton, LLC, to build a 24,321-square-foot brewery and restaurant into a portion of the large former Unilever headquarters building on John Street. That 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.
The lack of a master plan has been a particular sticking point for land use officials. In 2019, the PZC approved a zoning exception to allow commercial indoor recreation use on the property of the headquarters building. That application had been the first application filed related to the property and its approval was met with glee from townsfolk.
At that time, former building inspector Ed Smith explained to the Harbor News that people should temper their excitement since Massimino would need to submit a complete master plan for the property rather than trying to get approvals for each specific proposed use and then piece them together.
Smith said it was particularly important that the building, which has been vacant for nearly 10 years, be brought up to current code and that the proposed mixed uses be compatible with each other. The indoor rec use has also failed to materialize since it was approved.
There has been some progress since the purchase of the lots was announced though. Massimino was approved to turn an old office building on the property located across from the main building into an apartment complex. Work on that project has been ongoing.
Town officials have preached patience when it comes to the development of the building, cautioning it will take time to develop the whole property.
the Unilever plant was a significant part of Clinton’s economy for more than 100 years, but Unilever closed the plant at the end of 2012. The site sat vacant over the course of nearly seven years and through a series of proposals for reuse that never came to fruition. In July 2019 the sale of the Unilever property to Massimino was a well-received surprise to Clinton residents.
A website from the developer has dubbed the proposed redevelopment The Station at Clinton. According to the website thestationatclinton.com, if built to completion the development will contain apartments, the brewery and restaurant, an indoor recreation facility, and commercial space.