Marine
Center news: threat resolved for now
Background:
-
Dealey
Division Sea Cadets have
been housed at the Marine Center off Magee Avenue in Stamford
(see photo) since the Division was formed as the first such unit in New
England in
1958.
-
Some Stamford officials in 2013
supported the construction of a huge commercial
building on the former Yacht Haven boatyard site and proposed
that
the Marine Center site be used by the developer for an
alternative new boatyard. Should this happen, and no suitable
alternative site be found for the Cadets, then this outstanding local
youth program that is a key mission of our Navy League Council would be
ended.
-
The city has owned the building
since it was gifted by the Navy, with the stipulation that a portion be
maintained for use by the Sea Cadets, the Power Squadron, and the Navy
League, among others; although the validity of such a stipulation after
this many years is in question.
Status:
- The
developer, BLT, needed to obtain Planning, Zoning, and Fiscal board
approvals. Planning meeting hearings in 2013 demonstrated
stiff public opposition. Dealey Sea Cadet staff attended the
hearings, along with a number of Cadets in uniform and their
parents.
A formal statement was made by Dealey CO, Jennifer Stannard,
as well as presenting letters
from prior Cadets (see below).
- The City and BLT stated their
willingness
to find alternative space for the Division, since they seemed to
recognize the importance and visibility of this fine youth program.
- We were hopeful that
either public opposition would lead to this
development being stopped or that a fully suitable alternative site
would be found for the Cadets if the project went forward. But
we alerted
our Navy League Council members to be ready to support our efforts to
convince local authorities of the need and value of Dealey Division, if
and when needed.
- October
2013 update: with
mounting local opposition leading to possible rejection by the Stamford
Planning Board, BLT withdrew its proposal
for the time being for possible rewriting and
resubmission later. See October 2nd
Stamford
Advocate article link below for further details.
- March
2014 update:
BLT had not yet resubmited
a new proposal. In the meantime, a
local group called "Save Our Boatyard" proposed a new boatyard
for
the BLT site, that if taken to fruition would leave the Sea Cadet Magee
Avenue building as is. This
proposal was presented at a public hearing on March 19th.
See March 20 Stamford Advocate article link below for further
details.
- July
2014 update: the
planned tenant for the originally proposed BLT building, Bridgewater
Associates, announced that they decided against this move,
effectively ending the threat to the Marine Center for now.
BLT still owns the land of the former Yacht Haven boatyard,
so a
future threat is still possible but much less likely than it was!
See Stamford Times June 27th article below for details.
Additional
information:
attached are the following documents (click on links to
view):
- statement by Jennifer Stannard, Dealey Division
CO, to Planning Board; link.
- statement by Capt. Jarrett Berke, USMC, former
Cadet; link.
- Stamford Advocate article May 13, 2013 "Cadets
may
lose longtime training facility"; link.
- Stamford Advocate letter to editor by Jennifer
Stannard May 31, 2013 "Sea Cadets hidden jewel in Stamford"; link.
- Stamford Advocate article Aug 6, 2013 "BLT
hearing
cut short"; link.
- Stamford Advocate letter to editor from resident
Kevin Dailey "Cost of BLT licensing"; link.
- Stamford Advocate
article Oct. 2, 2013 "Next Step for Stamford-BLT License
Unclear"; link.
- Stamford Advovate
article March 20, 2014 "Stamford group unveils plan for boatyard"; link.
- Stamford Times
article June 27, 2014 "Bridgewater Move to Stamford a No-No"; link.
