BRC's Admiral's Wharf project will restore a heavily contaminated 40-acre site on Stamford's South End waterfront to a major economic and recreational resource. The property, which abuts the world headquarters of Pitney Bowes Corporation, was the site of a coal gasification plant that closed in the 1970s. Contamination at the site is extensive and includes coal tars, cadmium, arsenic, lead, petroleum, and PCBs. The current owner has agreed to sell the property to a team comprised of BRC and a local development team - Arthur Collins, Senior, of Collins Enterprises, and JHM Ventures.
Stamford, Connecticut is located on Long Island Sound, just 35 miles from New York City. Known for its strong corporate base, Stamford is headquarters to four Fortune 500 corporations and 13 Fortune 1000 companies. This prosperity does not, however, reach all of Stamford's residents. Stamford's South End, located on the waterfront, is the City's poorest neighborhood. With an 80% minority population, 16% of South End families live below the poverty level. Once a manufacturing hub, the South End is now home to decaying industrial plants and sub-standard housing. Despite this blight, the City, BRC and others see tremendous opportunity in revitalizing the area and returning Stamford's harbor to productive use.
The $250 million Admiral's Wharf redevelopment project will include a 250,000 square foot office building, 500+ housing units (including affordable housing), a 200-room conference and corporate training center, a high-speed ferry terminal with 45-minute service to Manhattan, a marina expansion, 50,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, parking for 2,300 cars, and a 4,000-foot public waterfront walkway. It will turn an idle brownfield into a tax-paying development that provides public access to the harbor and brings much-needed jobs and affordable housing to the area. "[The project] is being hailed in many quarters of Stamford as a long-sought catalyst for the rebirth of the city's troubled South End peninsula." (The New York Times, 10/22/00)
