The Yale Urban Design Workshop, led by Alan Plattus, has completed their Milford Downtown Plan. This is the second time YUDW has worked with the City of Milford, the last plan having been published in 2003.
Relative to 10 years ago, downtown has seen promising growth with an influx of new apartments, restaurants, nightlife spots, and independently owned retail. The newest plans calls for follow-through on many of the incomplete recommendations made in 2003, and even more ambitious optimizations and development for continued growth.
YUDW began the study in 2011, working closely with Milford Progress, Inc. A community workshop was held in the Milford Public Library in February 2012. Many residents expressed concern over a number of issues, including but not limited to: maintaining the charm and appearance of downtown, preserving Fowler Field as public space, and the need for a parking garage.
Many of these concerns were taken into consideration in the final plan. Plans to develop Fowler Field commercially were scrapped, and the plan now suggests optimizing that land for public park use. The plan calls for phased improvements over the next 1-10 years.
The full study can be downloaded here.
Some highlights of the plan include:
- Improved signage for way finding and parking.
- Improvements for better pedestrian and bike flow.
- The creation of the Wepawaug River Trail. A relatively small investment could provide a scenic walkway that connects the harbor and Fowler Field to City Hall and the duck ponds. This would help link neighborhoods and areas Downtown while showcasing the area’s natural beauty.
- Improved traffic flow, namely at the New Haven Ave/Broad Street/River Street intersection. The current orientation is confusing to visitors and not optimal, and streetscape improvements can be made to make the intersection safer and more pedestrian friendly.
- Visual improvements to the River Street railroad bridge as an attractive “gateway” to Downtown.
- The building of a multi-story parking garage adjacent to the courthouse.
- Better utilization of commercial space. Most urgently being the rezoning and redevelopment of 18 New Haven Ave into a more appropriate mixed-use property.
- Development of the west end of the green. Currently underutilized and lacking the restaurants, shops and vibrancy of the eastern end of downtown. Recommendations include mixed-use development in and around 247 Greens End Place, as well as similar exploration at the old CVS site.
- Optimizing Fowler Field for waterfront access and more efficient open space. A dedicated bandshell is recommended for events.
Not every town in the region has a defined traditional downtown. Orange, Woodbridge and Bethany don't, for instance. Trumbull, Monroe, Easton are just a few others. When young buyers look for a town to move into, a vibrant walkable downtown with identity and charm is often an important factor these days. Why would Milford sit idly and let its downtown languish? Because of unsustainability? Please, the retail on route 1 is what's unsustainable.
I suggest the study go back to the drawing boards and CONSIDER where handicapped parking spaces should be located to access the commercial buildings in the area. It is bad enough that a person in a wheel chair cannot get into the lobby of the downtown US Post Office. It has never been retrofitted. The State Courthouse has a rear entrance with three spots in the rear parking lot, but I have had to wait 20 minutes before someone would let me in. I'm sure there are many other things lacking in this study that is of concern to Milford residents, such as the condition of the sidewalks. Please hold off final payment.
Also, there are no blueprints here to set up new parking standards at that level of detail. This is very high level, macro-level planning. I'm sure any development will have to be compliant. Should any new development happen, you can certainly be an advocate for handicap provisions.
If more apartments are built downtown in walking distance to the train station, there will be more patrons for the retail. Some businesses have come and go, but it has better staying power you give it credit for. The problem right now is the lack of anchor businesses that are a big draw. Colony will be one of them, but we could have more. Fairfield, West Hartford, and Westport are all proof it can work. Our disadvantage is the mall, but like I said - indoor malls are not as popular as they used to be. RE: young buyers, anecdotally - a majority of the young people that have bought houses that I know have bought in the Stratford/Milford/Shelton area because of its affordability in contrast to Fairfield County.
Also, where is the stats that validate your statement re: young buyers? And New Haven is actually thriving. Maybe you should go there some time.
Dr. O'Neil has the right thinking. Fowler Field should be developed to attract tourists visiting our harbor by boat. That is why I'm now living in Milford. Our waterfront is an underdeveloped asset. Can viisitor's come to an event by their boat?
Mike Piazza is destined to be a hall of fame catcher. Pizza is a delicious pie that contains all the major food groups.
RE: 360 State Street, are you kidding? It's almost 100% occupied, and way ahead of schedule.
The same can't be said for mid-century buildings like the Bank of America building. Absolutely hideous. Also, where the study sketched a modern looking building on the west end of the is a pretty ugly 1970's-looking medical building. A modern building there would be a great improvement. That said, there's no reason why it can't match the aesthetics of the rest of downtown. Are there visual standards in place for downtown construction? There should be.
As far as the greens themselves, I have worked in both the downtowns of Fairfield and Westport and although ARCHITECTURALLY they are laid out nicely, the occupants are overpriced for Milford. Look how long the Lily Pulitzer boutique lasted here. You cannot put stores like Barney's, William- Sonoma & Coach. The money just isn't here to sustain those types of businesses. As real estate goes, I am trying to find a house in Milford for a friend. He wants a nice 2-3 bedroom, gas heated house that isn't a major fixer upper. He also has a budget. The inventory in Milford is very low unless you want a one bedroom condo. you're SOL right now. People want to live here but they can't afford to! Milford might want to think about some more affordable single family homes so that they can attract more people? The number of children in our schools is dwindling and if Milford wants get the school funding they want you have to think about how to attract more people with children to populate our schools. The median age in Milford is only going up. Lisa
Barney's, definitely not - but a Williams-Sonoma could definitely cut it. That's one of those stores that feels high end, but really isn't. Anyone can shop there. There's a few others in Fairfield downtown that would work, like Gap and Victoria Secret - but unfortunately they already exist in the mall and won't be duplicated. I can think of a few others that aren't represented in the Milford/Orange area that would work in downtown - J Crew, Urban Outfitters, Crate & Barrel, Ann Taylor, maybe a Patagonia/North Face retailer like Trailblazer or Denali (who survive in Branford and North Haven, respectfully). Those types are mostly targeted to middle-to-upper-middle-class shoppers. Just because they're aspirational doesn't make them upscale. Shops in Westport that could never survive in downtown Milford are shops like Coach, Vineyard Vines, Restoration Hardware, Kate Spade, Brooks Brothers, etc. Those are truly upscale shops.
Milford Marketplace actually does well. The Whole Foods is one of the highest volume in CT, and I got that info from someone in their corporate operations. The parking lot is plenty full on weekends and holidays. In the long term, lifestyle centers like that are growing in popularity while indoor malls continue to decline. Remember, that center exists because there is a significant upper middle class presence in Milford and surrounding towns. It's a shopping destination, as would downtown if it expanded. Affluent Orange and Woodbridge residents would probably prefer to shop in our beautiful downtown vs the skanky mall. That said, without a parking garage those national chains will not come to downtown. With a parking garage, you could have development similar to what happened in West Hartford. That does well despite the proximity of Westfarms Mall. And it's mixed use. In the meantime, perhaps some more local chains, like the aforementioned Denali/Trailblazer company, would help move things in the right direction. Chains that have already invested in similar downtowns with success.
Milford could take some lessons from what's being done there. We should not accept the excuse that downtown is being held back from our mall. West Hartford Center is 3 miles from Westfarms Mall, similar to Downtown Milford at 2 miles. West Hartford Center has a smart layout, ample parking on both street and garages, is pedestrian friendly, attractive. It's also the details that count. Once you get off 84, you have simple, one purpose signs that point you to the center. I know the city has been looking into a city-wide way-finding system, but this is separate from that. It's just a simple sign that says "West Hartford Center" with an arrow. It helps. I had zero problems finding my way despite not being there in years. To your average visitor, Milford Downtown is similarly hidden and hard to find. It's not right off Route 1 like Westport or Fairfield. So it needs help getting there. We can do better.