Lately, a lot has been said about a proposed industrial project in Middlebury — and much of it simply isn’t true. Opponents have tried to portray our team as outsiders’ intent on reshaping the town. The reality is quite different. I was born in Middlebury in 1963, lived here through college, and my family has invested and continues to invest in this community for more than 50 years.
By contrast, the leaders of the opposition both moved to Middlebury in 2020. Since arriving, they’ve organized a campaign of misinformation designed to block lawful, responsible development.
Their main target is our plan to redevelop the former Timex headquarters site — a 23-year-old office building that the State Historic Preservation Office unanimously (8–0) ruled unworthy of historic designation. Despite that, the group the Middlebury Small Town Alliance, continue to spread claims — calling our proposal a “distribution center” with over 1,000 trucks a day and circulating misleading mailers showing a 1.2 million-square-foot Walmart warehouse to alarm residents.
Here are the facts:
Our project is half that size, set far back from the road, and cannot be seen even in winter. State traffic authorities, OSTA, has reviewed the professionally prepared traffic studies and confirmed 33 trucks per day by granting a State Traffic permit without the need for a turn lane or traffic light. The site lies in a long-established industrial zone near I-84 — exactly where Middlebury planned for commercial growth more than 50 years ago and confirmed with their plan for Conservation & Development approved in 2015.
My family has owned this property (or our portion of it) since 1998. Our proposal is fully consistent with zoning and represents the kind of balanced development Middlebury needs. Unfortunately, the MSTA’s appeals have stalled progress and jeopardized millions in revenue that could help stabilize local taxes.
That matters because Middlebury’s tax base is increasingly unbalanced. Residential properties currently make up nearly 90% of the town’s grand list, and after revaluation, that number could reach 95%. As home values rise and commercial values decline, the burden shifts more heavily onto homeowners especially long-time senior residents on fixed incomes. According to the Connecticut Farm Bureau, residential properties consume 120% of what they contribute in taxes, while commercial and industrial properties use only 26%.
Without new business investment, Middlebury’s taxpayers will shoulder the full weight of rising costs, particularly school expenses that grow about 5% a year. The two warehouse projects now tied up in appeals would have generated about $2 million in fees and $2.2 million in annual property taxes — real dollars that could offset those costs.
The choice for Middlebury is clear: do we want a sustainable future with a balanced tax base and responsible economic growth, or do we want to keep saying no — and watch property taxes climb indefinitely?
Middlebury’s residents deserve facts, not fiction. Responsible commercial development isn’t a threat to the town’s character — it’s essential to its future.
David Drubner is manager Southford Park LLC
