Bank Halts Foreclosure on Metro Center Developer's Property

The bank that initiated foreclosure proceedings in December 2008 against the developer involved with the Fairfield Metro Center stopped those proceedings Thursday, and the developer once again has access to cash.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Carpenter, deputy chief of staff for First Selectman Ken Flatto, said this afternoon that an agreement announced Thursday that enables the project to move forward would be publicly available on Monday.

Details of that agreement among the town, state Department of Transportation and Blackrock Realty, LLC, the developer, were scant on Thursday, and the town and DOT put out conflicting information on Thursday about what the agreement included.

Information that is consistent from both the town and state is that Blackrock Realty, LLC agreed to kick in $5.2 million in new money to complete public portions of the Fairfield Metro Center project; that the state had authorized $19.4 million in bonding to complete public portions in the project; and that the town had money available for public portions from an original $6 million authorization by town boards. The amount of remaining town money available was identified as $5 million on Thursday by First Selectman Ken Flatto.

The Fairfield Metro Center, first announced about a decade ago, involves construction of the town's third train station, a parking lot for rail commuters and nearly 1 million square feet of commercial development on 35.5 acres at 21 Blackrock Turnpike.

The town previously bought 8.83 acres of the property to construct a parking lot for rail commuters. The town used $3.75 million of a $4 million federal grant to buy the 8.83 acres. (The state says the lot will have 1,200 spaces; the town, which used to identify the number at 1,500, identified it at "almost 1,500" on Thursday.)

Blackrock's attempts to secure permits for the development took years and Blackrock's financial difficulties led TD Banknorth, which had loaned Blackrock money, to initiate foreclosure proceedings on Blackrock's property in court and to file a "lis pendens" (Latin for "suit pending") against Blackrock on town land records.

TD Banknorth on Thursday filed in the Town Clerk's office a "release of lis pendens" that said the December 2008 lis pendens was "released and wholly discharged."

Officials said the December 2008 "lis pendens" was a notice that a foreclosure action was filed in court on the property and that the "release of lis pendens" was notice that the foreclosure action was withdrawn.

Land records filed Thursday in the Town Clerk's office say Blackrock has been given a $4.4 million construction promissory note with a maturity date of Nov. 1, 2012 and that Blackrock's amended loan balance, also due Nov. 1, 2012, is $8.5 million.

The land records further state that Blackrock agrees that it owes $2.53 million in interest on a previous loan ($10 million in 2003 and later amended to $20 million), but the $2.53 million in interest would be waived if Blackrock pays back the construction promissory note and amended loan balance by Nov. 1, 2012.

The private development envisioned by Blackrock Realty includes five 200,000-square-foot office buildings, retail space and a 180-room hotel.

The developer's work on the public portions of the site had included building an interior road to connect the bottom of a DOT bridge to Black Rock Turnpike, installing a drainage system on its property and moving contaminated soil away from the shoreline of Ash Creek.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, that work would now be overseen by the town, but the town's initial $6 million wouldn't increase, according to Town Attorney Richard Saxl.

Instead, the $5 million in remaining town money would go toward building the commuter parking lot and improving off-site intersections to handle heavier traffic.

Information from the town and state that seems to be in conflict is who will own about 2 acres of land associated with the interior road and the number of parking spaces that will be provided for rail commuters.

Saxl said this afternoon that the town will own the roadway land and that it totals 2.76 acres. The town won't take ownership of the land until the road is built, Saxl said. "We're not going to record the deed until we get someone to build it out," he said. "At the end of the day, it will be a town road."

The state would take ownership of the 8.83 acres where the rail commuter lot is planned, Saxl said.

The state's news release says that the state will receive revenues from the rail commuter parking lot.

Saxl indicated that was true to a point. "After expenses of running the lot have been paid, the town gets the next $300,000 a year for 20 years," he said, adding that that provision was in the original tri-party agreement among the town, state and Blackrock Realty and hadn't changed.

Saxl said the number of parking spaces isn't set yet. The original tri-party agreement identifies the number at 1,500.