Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

September 10, 2024

Locals give cool reception to massive Waterbury-Naugatuck Amazon warehouse proposal

Michael Puffer An attendee at a Tuesday informational session sponsored by developers points to a rendering of a roughly 3-million-square-foot Amazon warehouse proposed for a 183-acre site in Waterbury and Naugatuck
By Michael Puffer

A development group aiming to build a nearly 3-million-square-foot Amazon warehouse on the Waterbury-Naugatuck line received a largely chilly response during a neighborhood information session Tuesday evening. 

Bluewater Property Group arranged for Tuesday's public information session at Gilmartin Elementary School in Waterbury, shortly after it submitted applications for wetlands permits for its 183-acre development site straddling both communities.  

Leaders of Bluewater’s project development team spent about an hour summarizing the project and responding to a string of concerns raised by frustrated area residents. 

“It’s going to be a disturbance to the neighborhood,” said Barbara Murray, a Waterbury resident who lives in a neighborhood just to the north of the development site. “There is going to be light. There is going to be noise.” 

Residents raised concerns about light pollution, noise, traffic, displacement of wildlife and impacts to property values. Several also asked about possible damage to their homes from blasting required to develop the steeply sloped and rocky site.
 
Bluewater representatives assured attendees they would follow local noise and light regulations and take an array of measures to mitigate impacts. The development site will be wrapped by a noise barrier fence and there will be a minimum 150-foot buffer between the development and nearby residences. 

Bluewater staff said there will also be a roughly 30-acre conservation easement and no infringement on wetlands. They said they would remove invasive plants and plant native ones to improve water quality. 

Pressed by one resident, Bluewater Vice President Joshua Garofano said he is open to ensuring a bond is in place to compensate homeowners should there be any property damage during construction. A contractor needs to be hired before details can be ironed out, he said. 

“Will I work with you to do it? One hundred percent,” Garofano said. “Happy to. I just need a contractor, somebody to speak to, to get that far. We are not that far yet. But we can certainly bond our earthwork – our earthwork contract on this job. It’s certainly big enough for that.” 

Most of the 183-acre development site is owned by Waterbury.
 
Former Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary worked with Naugatuck Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess to secure access to the property through Naugatuck, jumping a hurdle that had held up development of the area for decades. A search by local officials for a development partner turned up Bluewater. 

Bluewater Vice President Christina Bernardin said Tuesday the development will add about $150 million in new taxable value, although she acknowledged a tax deal reducing that yield is possible. She also said the development will result in 500 to 1,000 new jobs.
 
The roughly 120- to 130-foot tall robotic-assisted logistics warehouse would take about two years to build, Bluewater representatives said. Bernardin said Bluewater has built similar facilities in Charlton, Massachusetts and Johnston, Rhode Island. 

Bluewater will also seek upgrades for roadways and intersections near its development, including the widening of the offramp of a Route 8 southbound ramp to two lanes, and a “complete reconstruction” of the intersection of Sheridan Drive and South Main Street in Naugatuck. 

Bluewater staff received a friendlier response from residents during brief, informal conversations immediately following Tuesday’s presentation. Several locals expressed the absence of hard feelings, as well as sympathy for the slight grilling the developers received. 

Not everybody who spoke up during the question-and-answer portion of Tuesday's meeting was in opposition. 

Paul Kondash, a member of Waterbury’s Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, said he has heard an overwhelmingly positive response from the public.

“All I hear is: ‘Amazon is coming, Amazon is coming, Amazon is coming – I can’t wait,’” Kondash said. “I just have one brief question for you: Can you start construction tomorrow?” 

 

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF