ANSONIA, Conn. (WTNH) — Big changes are coming to Ansonia. The city is working to transform its downtown. The development in the works is something it hasn’t seen in decades.
Essentially, an entire block will have new businesses and some new apartments. The current senior center on Main Street will soon be residential.
“They’re going to be single bedroom apartments,” said David Cassetti, Mayor of Ansonia. “We’re hoping with the train station right next door, you’ll have people from New York that come up, that want to have an apartment here in Ansonia.”
That’s a big deal for a small city. Especially since the ATP and Palmer buildings haven’t been paying taxes in decades. Cassetti says they’ve been costing the city about $30 thousand per year just to maintain.
“Right now it’s been vacant for 35 years, had no income at all,” Cassetti said.
The space on the bottom floor will be commercial space; instead of the senior center, you may see a restaurant. The senior center will be moving to the first floor of a large building down the street. The city’s police department will have a new space on the second floor of that building, essentially tripling the space the department currently has.
“We have a real need downtown to have our center of security and safety here to help commercial businesses flourish,” said John Marini, Corporation Counsel for Ansonia.
The goal is to revitalize downtown, to make it a place where people will want to live, shop and eat. That also includes a new building, which will become a banquet hall and restaurant.
“That is new construction that we haven’t seen since the 1990s, so that’s a big deal,” said Sheila O’Malley, the city’s economic development administrator.
Further down on Main Street the city is expecting a new HomeGoods store, which could open late this summer.
