The nearly decade-long
struggle to replace the crumbling Stamford railroad station parking garage has
taken another bizarre turn: the CDOT now
wants to spend $1.5 million and take six months to repair the garage before
they tear it down.
How did we get into this
mess? Let’s examine the time-line:
 |
| Garage construction - 1983 |
MAY
1983: Construction
begins on the Stamford Transportation Center, featuring a new train station and
parking garage. But construction is halted when cracks
are found in beams. Repairs are made and work continues.
AUGUST
2006: Crumbing
concrete, exposed and rusting rebar convince engineers the garage is near the
end of its life. CDOT decides it will be cheaper to demolish
the old 727-space parking garage than to repair it… $35 million.
AUGUST
2008: A hoped-for
public-private partnership (PPP) to replace the old garage in its current
location and add private office space falls through.
JULY
2012: The CDOT tries a
PPP again, issuing an
RFP (Request for Proposals) for replacement
parking within a quarter mile
of the station. Developers are promised
confidentiality. There are no public
hearings on any concepts, leaving
commuters in the dust. After protests, Governor Malloy appoints a panel to
oversee the CDOT process of selecting a developer. The group meets secretly, never seeking
public input nor ever issuing a report on its work.
JULY
1, 2013: Developer
John McClutchy and family donate
$30,000 to the CT State Central Democratic Committee. By February 2015, the McClutchy’s have
donated $165,000 to that federal account, bypassing state laws prohibiting
contractor contributions to candidates.
 |
| John McClutchy |
JULY
11 2013: The
CDOT announces
its choice of developers for the Stamford Garage, JHM Group of Companies
(headed by John McClutchy), which proposes a 600,000 sq ft office / hotel
complex on the site of the old garage while parking is moved a quarter mile
away. Negotiations on a final deal get
underway.
NOVEMBER
2014: Having
been completely bypassed in the state’s decision making process about the
garage project, the City of Stamford Zoning Board passes a new zoning ordinance
giving it final
approval over any projects near the train station.
MARCH
2015: In
response, the Governor introduces HB-6851, a bill to give the state control
of all development within a half mile of any transit station. The bill would create a quasi-governmental CT
Transit Corridor Development Authority, all of its members appointed
by the Governor, with the power
of eminent domain. The bill is eventually
killed.
APRIL
2015: Large
chunks of concrete fall from the ceiling of the Stamford Garage prompting CDOT
to close the facility for safety inspection, displacing 700+ daily parkers.
 |
| Spawling concrete, rusted rebar |
JULY
2015: The
second anniversary of CDOT’s selection of JHM as developer of the garage
passes, but there is still
no signed contract. The old garage
remains closed into a third month with no word on repairs.
OCTOBER
2015: CDOT announces
it will spend
$1.5 million and six months to repair part of the old garage, eventually re-opening
270 of its 727 spaces.
Those facts speak for
themselves. My only opinion: if CDOT can so mismanage a small project like
this, what’s going to happen when Governor Malloy gives them $100
billion to spend on his 30-year transportation plan?
