Stratford Crossing Retail Center
Stratford, Connecticut

The Stratford Crossing Retail Center in Stratford, Connecticut transformed a 34-acre, designated Superfund site – a polluted “no-man’s land” – into a vital, prosperous retail development that today is home to The Home Depot, Shaw’s Supermarket, and Wal-Mart. In recognition of this successful redevelopment, The Stratford Crossing Retail Center received a 2002 Connecticut Real Estate Award.

The Raymark Corporation used the site for brake lining manufacturing operations from 1919 to 1989. In the early 1990s, the former Raymark site had been designated a Superfund site due to the discovery of soils substantially contaminated with asbestos, dioxin, and PCBs. Although the federal government completed site abatement work prior to site acquisition by The Home Depot and its development partners, Wal-Mart and Shaw’s Supermarkets, the project team faced many challenges in developing this site.

At a cost of more than $80 million, abatement work consisting of the installation of a ground water drainage system to remove and divert liquid contaminants or polluted ground water to a special treatment plant was completed. Once the drainage system was installed, the entire site was covered with a multi-layer protective cap that included a rubber membrane in direct contact with the contaminated soil, a Bentonite clay layer, a 6” layer of sand, a protective layer of orange snow fencing, and a 3’ to 6’ soil layer. The project team was required to maintain the integrity of the environmental protective cap throughout the construction period. Any breach in the cap would cause a job shutdown and extensive corrective measures as mandated by the EPA and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The state DEP was on-site daily to help ensure compliance with all site restrictions.

Every team member on the site – project managers, site superintendents, foremen, and individual subcontractor staff – was specially trained in construction protocols necessary to protect the environmental cap. Site security was maintained by assigning a single source for reviewing and approving all site deliveries. The general contractor, Konover Construction, appointed a key staff member to oversee all deliveries and ensure that every site worker received the required training. The project team maintained careful coordination and constant communication with the federal and state agencies overseeing the project, as well as the town’s building department and regulatory groups. By engaging everyone in the redevelopment process, any site development or construction issues were quickly identified and resolved.

In addition to the site remediation, the team completed an offsite project that included remodeling a portion of U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 110 adjacent to the retail center.

Despite the many site restrictions and conditions placed on construction, the project was completed in seven months, enabling the tenants to open their facilities as planned. The new stores have created approximately 1,000 new permanent jobs, and approximately 600 temporary positions. Stratford Crossings was granted a three-year tax abatement while paying taxes on the original assessment price prior to construction. According to J. Bruce Alessie, Town of Stratford, once the abatement period is ended, it is anticipated the shopping center will generate in excess of $1 million in annual taxes to the town.

To find out more about Stratford Crossings, contact Jonelle Lawhorn at 860-284-7431.

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