Milligan buys ‘the whole block’

Is Milligan good for Wall Street? Two stakeholders respond.

NORWALK, Conn. — Real estate broker Jason Milligan, self-described Wall Street Redeveloper, said he now owns every property on River Street.

Milligan said he bought 48 Wall St. and 16 River St. for a total $4.2 million Thursday. It’s a purchase he’s been hinting at for a while, promising to blow “Laoise King’s socks off.”

King is Norwalk Chief of Staff. She didn’t reply to a Thursday email giving her a chance to respond to Milligan’s statements.

Milligan owned about 40 Wall Street area properties before Thursday’s splurge. He’s embroiled in multiple lawsuits with the City and Norwalk Redevelopment Agency.

Milligan said he bought three properties Thursday, including 1 Mechanic St. in his list. There’s no such address in the City’s records. He explained, “48 Wall & 16 River are the legal addresses but it is 3 contiguous buildings. 1 Mechanic St is the middle building.”

He said, “I bought the whole block. Bank of America up to Banc House.”

Milligan owns the former My Three Sons building across the street. That’s next to the Yankee Doodle Garage, owned by the City.

Penn Central owns a sliver of vacant property at 18 River St., on the same side as Banc House, according to the City records, which describes it as “State DOT land.” It’s the Danbury branch railroad line running under the sidewalk.

Both 48 Wall St. and 16 River St. were owned by LLCs associated with James Tucciarone of Wilton. Milligan said he paid about $1.8 million for 48 Wall and $2.4 million for 16 River.

• Tucciarone, under 48 Wall Street LLC, bought that property in 200 for $1.6 million, according to City records. It’s appraised at $2,189,590.
• Tucciarone, under 16 River Street Associates LLC, bought that property in 2004 for $1.75 million, according to City records. It’s appraised at $2,459,590.

Milligan said that as always, his plans for the properties will “continue to evolve and change based on the types of tenants we are able to attract. I have quite a few ideas. For sure people will see an immediate difference outside. We plan to start upgrading the plantings and other landscaping.”

Milligan said:

“As you know I have big plans for River Street. Those plans happen to coincide with everything the office of Economic Development and the Transportation, Parking & Mobility are working on. It is a perfect compliment {cq} of public and private. The public is focused on infrastructure like roads, sidewalks, intersections etc, while I am focused on improving the beautiful historic buildings and bringing in new tenants.

“The final piece that the area needs is some tweaks to the zoning regulations that will allow the area a little more flexibility as it rebuilds. If we get those zoning improvements then the area will rocket forward and I would be able to build my plans like the Hotel.”

When Milligan bought the former My Three Sons building at 64 Wall St. two years ago, he said he wanted to build a hotel. Planning and Zoning denied the plan as not in compliance with parking requirements.

As for zoning, “We hope to have a draft of the citywide updated zoning regulations available for public presentation and discussion in November,” Planning and Zoning Director Steven Kleppin said in an email.

Milligan has reportedly been seeking Norwalk Preservation Trust President Tod Bryant’s support for his hoped for-zoning changes.

Bryant said he’s aware of what Milligan wants and he doesn’t think it would be good for the historic nature of the district.

Milligan seen as a major catalyst

Is Milligan good for Wall Street?

That’s “hard to say,” Bryant replied. The stalled Wall Street Place, referred to by Milligan and others as The Tyvek Temple, is a “blackeye” for the area and if not for Milligan’s attempts to stop the current plans from going forward, it would be built by now, he said. The neighborhood would look normal and there would be people on the streets, patronizing the businesses.

Wall Street Neighborhood Association President Marc Alan had other thoughts. He wrote:

“I’m the first to admit that Jason can be a double edge sword, but as I see it, he has been a major catalyst for change in a neighborhood that was completely stagnant for many years. When I moved here ten years ago, I used to ask people from Norwalk, why is it like this? And they would talk about the flood of 1955.

“As for how Jason has changed things for the better,  I can only speak of my own experiences as someone who owns a business on Isaac Street for the past 10 years, and who lived at 31 Isaac Street for four years.

“Before he bought the Isaac Street Parking Lot it was a sea of abandoned cars, overgrown trees, and broken beer bottles. Women were afraid to walk to their cars. It was surrounded by bleak, dilapidated properties, many of which today encompass thriving businesses.

“I remember when he purchased 21 Isaac Street, that had been slated for demolition; it now houses ARCSSL, one of the top lighting and sound companies in the northeast. He also bought the property which was the old Hookah Lounge, that for years attracted drug dealers and prostitues, and now houses the Mad Lab, one of the many creative businesses that Wall Street is becoming known for.

“During the pandemic he invested his own money into commissioning artwork, into what became a beacon of hope in a very dark time, establishing what is known as the Isaac Street Art Park.

“He redeveloped the old Fairfield County Bank building at 67 Wall Street, which now encompasses Juice Creative/Space 67, where Netflix comes to film movies. The space above the new bank is now occupied by the Norwalk Conservatory, a performing arts college. We have an actual college on Wall Street, largely thanks to Jason.

“Compared to other major property owners such as SCG Capital, whose properties encompass chronically empty store fronts, such as old Etude Ballet studio at 104 Wall Street, and the old health club at 84 Wall Street, properties that have been vacant for well over ten years, Jason is the only one renovating properties and enabling small retail businesses to open.

“Jason is a founding member of the Wall Street Neighborhood Association, investing both his own money, and a considerable amount of his personal time.

“In my opinion, anyone who says Jason hasn’t done a tremendous amount of good for the Wall Street community either has a very short memory of what it was actually like here ten years ago, is someone who spends no time here, or just isn’t willing to say.”

Reminder: NancyOnNorwalk requires full names from commenters. For more information, go here. NoN reporter Harold Cobin contributed to this story.