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09/18/2023 02:53 PMAt a Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) meeting on Sept. 11, Town Planner Abby Piersall gave a brief update concerning the former Unilever property. The commission was told the developer will likely have a preliminary meeting related to the next steps in the redevelopment of the property soon.
For more than a decade, the potential redevelopment of the former Unilever property has been one of the most prominent development issues on the minds of Clinton residents. In the summer of 2019, townsfolk were surprised with the news that the vacant Unilever headquarters 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 listed Michael Massimino as its principal.
Though rumors about the future property swirled since the purchase, the lack of a master plan for the property slowed any progress on redeveloping the property.
Late last year, Massimino presented to the PZC a proposed master plan for the property that called for a total of 155 apartments, 53 townhomes, an indoor sportsplex, and perhaps a restaurant and brewery to be built across several plots of land that make up the Unilever property. An internal road and sidewalk would also be built to link the train station and apartment buildings with two new entrances and exits on North High Street. More townhomes would be built by these entrances.
The plan called for four phases of construction across several years.
At the meeting on Sept. 11, Piersall said that phase one of the project, the construction of 45 apartments at 9-15 John Street, was largely completed save for some final minor tweaks.
According to Piersall, the complex, dubbed The Grand @ Station, has begun accepting residents with almost two-thirds of the apartments already leased. Minor fixes to landscaping and lightning were still planned, Piersall said.
Although she said she stressed she did not have a definitive timeline, Piersall said that in having a conversation with Massimino, she expects the developer to come back before the PZC or town staff to have preliminary talks about what the next phase of construction will look like.
In December 2022, Massimino said that phase two would consist of construction at the main headquarters building and 7 Central Avenue property, as well as building the internal road to North High Street. The developer proposed using a portion of the main headquarters building for 48 apartments, space for amenities, an indoor sports facility, and a restaurant and brewery. Massimino said last year that he was in negotiations with a potential tenant for the indoor sports space. The potential tenant, Massimino said at the time, was interested in uses like a turf field, pickleball courts, a gym, and a golf simulator. Massimino also said at the same meeting that no current tenant was lined up for the proposed brewery and restaurant use.
Piersall said that the space has already been approved for indoor sports, but further changes to the space would require a formal application to be filed.
A Long Road
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.
Town officials have repeatedly preached patience when it comes to the development of the building, cautioning it will take time to develop the whole property given its large size and the number of proposed uses on the site.
While there has been tremendous excitement about the development of the property since the sale four years ago, 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 at the time 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.
An application to allow commercial indoor recreation as a use on the property was approved by the PZC in 2019, shortly after the sale of the property was announced.