Stafford residents have passed The Village Shops at 30 West Stafford Rd. for years, wondering when the eyesore would get a facelift. An integral piece of property at the heart of Stafford’s retail district, The Village Shops have sat mostly empty, plagued by vandalism and falling into disrepair. One of the last remaining tenants, Kolossos Restaurant and Pizza, recently reopened in its new location just down the road. Hang’s Asian Bistro is supposed to be moving downtown. So, residents are rightly wondering, “What’s up with The Village Shops?” For the first time in a long time, there is some movement on that front — but it may have stalled before it started.
At the August 26, 2023 Inland Wetlands Commission meeting, Kenneth Hrica, a professional engineer and licensed land surveyor with an office at 42 Maple View Trail in Litchfield, represented the applicant, Thomas Briggs, who works for Alta Property Group. (The property is owned by Dunbeath LLC, of 30 West Stafford Road.) But according to the meeting minutes, the commission’s Chair, John Wilson, noted that the property had paperwork dating back to 2007 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that indicates portions of the lot may be in a special flood hazard area and that any further development there will be subject to federal, state and local flood plain management. He said this was issued some years ago when the Village Shops were built, and therefore, as a Commission, they cannot act on it right now.
Hrica said he was unaware of the document and would withdraw the application for now until he could investigate further. He said he would not want to start the clock ticking on the application until he can explore further. There was agreement from the Commission that this would be the best course of action. So, The Village Shops saga continues.
That being said, as it stands, the proposal reportedly calls for some retail near the road with self-storage toward the back of the property.
[This article was written using the official minutes from the Inland Wetland Commission meeting.]