Economic development in North Haven will receive a boost with the recent purchase of a warehouse by a New York-based bakery.

The bakery, A&M Bronx Bakery, acquired the 5.6-acre parcel of land at 50 Devine Street for $5.1 million on Feb. 6. Previously, the building was owned by painting and flooring company Joseph Cohen and Son, Inc.

First Selectman Michael Freda said he had been involved in discussions regarding the sale for six months.

"We're very excited about this new business coming into North Haven," said Freda. "It's something I've been involved with for the past six months. I've been working very closely with the commercial real estate agent, Matt O'Hare, and the owner of the company, Mr. Peter Andolino. "It's a major, major thing here to get this size company here from out-of-state. This is a project that I spent a lot of time on, and it's definitely going to happen."

With the consummation of the property and the existing building on the land, Freda said the town is planning "to relocate the existing business there, somewhere in North Haven."

"Over the course of the next year, we're going to see this bakery move in; there will be a total renovation of the existing building at 50 Devine Street," Freda said.

Freda said the relocation and renovation of the warehouse would take around a year to see through due to "the labor-intensive aspect of building this new facility."

As part of its renovation of the warehouse, A&M will be "investing in retrofitting the whole facility with state-of-the-art baking equipment," according to Freda. The equipment will be used to produce a wide variety of bread-based products, including dinner rolls, pizza shells, focaccia bread, and seasonal bread, among others. The company makes both bread-based products and produces the packaging of them. A frozen food aspect is another facet of production, where the company will freeze dough for distribution to supermarkets for breadmaking, according to Freda.

"They sell these products to major retailers up and down the East Coast," said Freda.

The energy expenditures of the "labor-intensive aspect" of the facility's renovation have not been ignored by Freda, who plans to discuss that component more deeply in a meeting between Andolino and the president of United Illuminating.

"To manage the expectations of this - because of all of the equipment that's going to be built out in that building - as they retrofit the building-and because of the fact that they're a very significant energy user - I am setting up a meeting with them, with the president of the UI and Gas Company to determine what the loads are for electricity and gas."

Freda said the moving-in and renovation phase of A&M into the warehouse is one part of the development at the property.

"In addition to this, the owner [Andolino] and I, we are working closely together to put a retail store in there, so people can go to the manufacturing facility and purchase some of these products right there," said Freda. "And that is part of what we are trying to accomplish."

Broadly, the project will contribute to numerous economic development plans the Freda spelled out for 2023, which serve an integral part of the Town's Affordable Housing Plan that the Board of Selectmen adopted on Jan. 26. As part of that Plan is the First Selectman's "longer-term vision and strategy" for "a State Street-Devine Street" development schema that includes A&M's newly acquired facility.

Freda has also envisioned developing a Department of Transportation-designated "Transit-Oriented Development" project for a train station off State Street and between Devine Street and Stiles Street. The station's status as a "Transit-Oriented Development" would result from its proximity to "the development of residential, commercial, and employment centers within one-half mile of walking distance of public transportation facilities," as defined by Connecticut General Statutes Section 13b-79o.

Considering the "labor-intensive aspect" of renovations and meeting energy needs, Freda again expressed optimism about the development and its future in the town.

"In the end, we'll have something here that we've never had before in North Haven: a manufacturing facility…and retail component store on a bakery that, in the future, may include a retail component that goes beyond the breads itself - perhaps into some other items, like desserts, and other things."