NewHavenBIZ

n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | A p r i l 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 17 expanding Hummel Bros. hot dog company and a pie-making operation run by Lyman Orchards of Middlefield. Many of the longtime founding businesses are now run by the sons and daughters of the founders. "ere's very few first-generation owners still le here. And I think that's what changes everything," Lettiero. To sell or not to sell With New Haven property values rising, some Food Terminal owners have been thinking about selling for years. "Some of us would like to sell and some of us would like to stay. Other than that, we're pretty unified on what we do," Lettiero said. With the changes in the area and potential of the site, he added, "this is not the highest and best use for the property." e Food Terminal faced near extinction in 2015, when a pivotal stake in the holding company went to auction aer the bankruptcy of founder Standard Beef in the wake of an embezzlement. At the time, the city proposed developing the site into housing, according to the New Haven Register. A group including current tenants bought the shares and saved the Food Terminal. e appraised value of the 15.52 acres of land the Food Terminal facility sits on rose nearly 64% from 2020 to 2021, from $3 million to nearly $5 million, according to city tax records. e total value of the property plus buildings and other improvements jumped from $10.3 million in 2020 to $12.6 million in 2021 — even with many of the structures showing their age. A selling price beyond the appraised value isn't hard to imagine, but many Food Terminal operators can't afford to move, Lettiero said. What complicates any move is the fact that many tenants have spaces specially modified at great expense to meet the regulations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other food-related agencies. Reproducing those changes would be prohibitively costly for small businesses. So, for the time being, the Food Terminal property is off the market and leases are being renewed for five to 10 years. "We're not for sale. But we always listen to people who make offers," Lettiero said. Lease negotiations had been ongoing for months with Long Wharf eatre, and the nonprofit was a welcome tenant, Lettiero said. He added that he doesn't expect to have trouble finding new renters. Fitting into the future e regionally acclaimed theater had played a key role in plans for the Food Terminal set out by the Long Wharf Responsible Growth Plan, a 2019 revisioning of the area as a walkable, mixed-use district. Part of a proposed "Market District," the terminal was recast as an open-air food court, with benches and pedestrian areas occupying what is now an expanse of parking and loading areas. "Part of the Long Wharf Responsible Growth plan is to reimagine the terminal model as the destination that supports the food industry, but also the broader Long Wharf district," said New Haven Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli. Updating the Food Terminal's worn exteriors and dated infrastructure is a must, he added. "Facilities are in a very deteriorating condition," Piscitelli said. Despite the challenges of an aging campus, the Food Terminal still attracts ongoing interest from food producers and distributors from across the region due to its location at the junction of Interstates 91 and 95, said Carlos Eyzaguirre, New Haven's deputy economic development administrator and point person on Long Wharf. With at least 600 jobs at the site currently, the Food Terminal is an important economic hub for the city, Eyzaguirre added. For Fran Lettiero and many others, the Terminal is about more than its economic potential, past and present. "It's been my whole life, it was my dad's whole life," Lettiero said. "I am very positive about the terminal. My dad's investment in 1961 is what I'm protecting here. And I just want to see the best for the property and the best for my partners here." n Lamberti Sausage has been making Italian links at the Food Terminal since the facility's founding. Food Terminal President Fran Lettiero and Lamberti Sausage President and Sales Manager Jay Pallotti. "Ion Bank is a phenomenal bank and community based." Member FDIC Antonio Liguori, President Calcagni Real Estate IonBank.com• 203.729.4442 TM

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