The board approved a $2.53 million grant for the project on Thursday night during a virtual meeting. Though the money is technically coming from the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, the developers of the project still needed the blessing of the finance board, since the city won the grant and has the authority to dole out the money.
Five of the six members of the board — with chairman Richard Freedman absent for the vote — supported the measure.
The plan calls for retrofitting “underutilized” properties on Pacific Street, and will include a year-round beer garden, food truck lot, German beer hall, coffee shop, social co-working space, pilot brewery and tasting room and event space.
The proposal also mentions creating “affordable retail opportunities by building baseline infrastructure required for future prospective retail tenants.”
Stamford was awarded the money through a partnership between the city and Scrap Works LLC, the company set up by Conor Horrigan, the entrepreneur behind Half Full Brewery. They were one of only 12 grant applicants statewide to be chosen by the DECD in April.
Horrigan joined with five other private business owners in the South End to develop the project, said Anita Carpenter, grants officer for the city, during the Board of Finance meeting.
The grant will only fund a percentage of the project, however, as the total cost is about $9.5 million. Cash contribution from the developers of roughly $6.5 million, plus close to $500,000 in bank financing, make up the rest of the funding.
Another of Horrigan’s ventures, the coffee shop/tasting room/coworking space The Third Place, is at the center of the plan.
The project spans five properties on Pacific Street, including the two buildings that house The Third Place, plus 553, 583 and 670 Pacific St. Among the proposed locations is the fire house at the corner of Pacific and Henry streets and an old garage.
The grant application states that Horrigan and the city want to fix the “existing and often vacant buildings and properties on Pacific Street that ooze character and history” by “cleaning them up and retrofitting them, and bringing in small scrappy businesses that give that community feel and vibes.”
While the city is making no financial commitment to the project, the city’s Grants Office will be responsible for monitoring the work.
Finance Board member Dennis Mahoney said the project would be costing the city for oversight, as Grants Office employees will have to dedicate time to making sure the work adheres to state requirements.
Carpenter said Mahoney was correct, as city workers will have to keep tabs on the work, expected to last two years.
Mahoney wondered if the city could have the developers pay for the city’s contribution to the project.
“You would think there would be some sort of ability to charge back some reasonable amount of time to process all of this for them,” he said.
Carpenter said that could be done, but it was unclear by the end of the meeting if any other board members would request it.