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The Corbin District is the largest real estate development in Darien’s history. Taking shape on almost seven acres of land in the heart of downtown. Its developer Baywater Properties, a privately held commercial real estate company in Fairfield and Westchester Counties, is re-imagining Darien by resetting the town’s shopping, dining, lifestyle, work and entertainment experiences. R. David Genovese, Baywater’s CEO, will provide an update on the development’s progress, completion date and leasing status. He will be joined by Kate Perez, The Corbin District’s project executive.

Baywater launched this exciting transformation of downtown Darien in 2019 with attention to detail and a sharp focus on creating what will be one of the most enjoyable and walkable downtown areas, not just in Darien, but across southwestern Connecticut. The project includes 29 stores, seven restaurants and eateries, three fitness studios, 110,000 square feet of Class A office space, a town green, three public plazas that can be combined for community events, 112 luxury apartment units and 850 new parking spaces. The work has already attracted top culinary talent and purveyors and prominent office space tenants, who are attracted to a one-of-a-kind architectural setting centered around a new town square. Several beautiful outdoor public spaces will activate the area, hosting farmers’ markets, outdoor concerts and various community gatherings.

Our speakers will discuss the project’s cost, leasing status for retail and office tenants who’ve already pre-leased space in the project, the timeline for completion and occupancy for each of the project’s several phases, as well as challenges the development has faced along the way.

Video Presentation 

Summary of Presentation by David Genovese and Kate Perez on 1/28/26

David Genovese and Kate Perez presented an in-depth update on the Corbin District, framing it as a nearly 20-year effort to reset and reimagine downtown Darien. What will emerge is the largest real estate development in the town’s history, built on nearly seven assembled acres after years of complex land acquisitions involving more than a dozen separate properties.

Genovese emphasized that the project was never intended to feel like a single, monolithic development. Instead, the goal was to create a downtown that looks as though it evolved organically over time, with varied architecture, walkable streets and inviting public spaces. The completed district will include 32 retail stores, seven dining establishments, 112 apartments, approximately 110,000 square feet of office space and about 850 parking spaces, supported by a mix of underground, structured and surface parking.

A major theme of the presentation was that the developers focused on community over pure economics. Rather than chasing only national chains or the possible highest rents, Baywater curated tenants through word-of-mouth, prioritizing distinctive businesses and preserving beloved local retailers by phasing construction so that the retailers could relocate within the district. Public gathering spaces — plazas, shared streets and landscaped areas — were intentionally designed to encourage people to linger, socialize and experience downtown without needing to buy something.

The visible transformation work began in 2019 with a big construction push culminating in Phase 1 (completed and 100% leased) and Phase 2 (under construction and almost 85% pre-leased).

Parking: David described parking as Baywater’s #1 challenge. The plan’s 850 spaces have the following characteristics:

• Large structured garage near the Darien Sport Shop side;
• 80–85 surface spaces behind the project (near I-95), giving a choice to people who dislike garages;
• Free parking (unless the town implements paid parking; leases are written to match the town’s rate if that happens); and
• Strong discouragement of “park-and-ride to NYC” abuse (drivers will be charged if they leave cars all day and take the train).

Baywater emphasized internal streets — Market Street and Penny Lane — including a Dutch concept of a shared street where pedestrians and cars co-exist without car dominance. Penny Lane can be closed May 1 to November 1 each year for pedestrian use and public-space programming.

Retail Leasing: The project has no “for lease” signs on it and no CoStar digital marketing. Leasing has been promoted by word-of-mouth and curated toward “unique” offerings rather than only high-rent national retail chains. Examples mentioned included:

• High end sushi restaurant;
• Tatte Bakery (Boston-based café brand);
• Millie’s (from Nantucket);
• Corsica Wine Bar (part of Barcelona Restaurant Group);
• Rhone (men’s athletic wear, locally connected ownership);
• Barry’s Bootcamp; and
• Chopt Creative Salad Co.

Baywater deliberately phased construction so that legacy local tenants (e.g., Barrett Bookstore, Toy Box) could relocate within the district rather than disappear for years.

Office Leasing: The office building was positioned by I-95 to act as a sound buffer (rather than having apartments face the highway) and designed so the fifth floor is stepped back to reduce perceived bulk from the plaza. Some tenants include:

• McKinsey committed to 12,000 square feet (moving from Stamford);
• Aon took 30,000 square feet;
• Balance Point Capital (leasing the entire fifth floor)

David said Darien had never seen office rents above $50 per square foot, but their rents have escalated from $60 to $70 to $79 and now $90 per square foot (while also noting construction costs rose dramatically due to pandemic-era inflation and higher interest rates).

Apartment Leasing: Baywater designed units for downsizers “without compromise,” including unusually generous bathroom layouts (e.g., 1 BR units with a bathroom plus a separate powder room). David described the tenant mix as:

• 10% young couples “trying Darien;”
• 50% empty nesters;
• 20–30% people relocating to be near adult children and grandchildren
• About 10% young families. In that connection, David reported that the impact on schools seems minimal as there are only three school-age children in the first 38 apartment units.

Construction Efforts: Kate Perez detailed the extraordinary engineering behind Phase Two, including construction of a large underground garage anchored below the water table. This required extensive dewatering and the installation of rock anchors drilled into bedrock to prevent the structure from lifting due to groundwater pressure. She described the excavation, precast garage construction, and the ongoing challenge of placing utility lines underground along the Boston Post Road. She detailed the following challenges to construction of the garage:

• Underground garage slab is 14.5 feet below grade;
• Water table is eight feet below grade (very high);
• Construction required 263 rock anchors (four-inch steel bars screwed into bedrock) to keep the slab from “floating” when groundwater rises;
• A “dewatering system” ran for over1.5 years to lower the water table;
• Excavation resulted in exporting more than 70,000 cubic yards of material; and
• Offsite fabrication of pre-cast components.

David also highlighted the Corbin District’s broader impact: attracting Class A office tenants previously unseen in Darien, achieving apartment rents well above expectations, and enhancing downtown’s appeal to young couples, empty nesters and grandparents relocating to be near family — all while adding very few school-age children.

David and Kate presented the Corbin District as a long-term civic investment, shaped by patience, design quality and a belief that a vibrant, walkable downtown strengthens both community life and property values in Darien.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal will discuss relevant current topics, including Ukraine, AI, veterans, the economy, workforce development, tariffs and manufacturing. Sen. Blumenthal served as a U.S. attorney for Connecticut from 1977–1981. He then served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1984–1987 and the Connecticut State Senate from 1987–1990. From 1991–2011, he served as Connecticut’s attorney general for an unprecedented five terms.

Sen. Blumenthal was sworn in to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Senate in 2011. Having been re-elected in 2016 and 2022, he is serving his third term. He is a member of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary, Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Special Committee on Aging. He has built a longtime advocacy for consumers by holding companies accountable for the safety of their products and is working to bring Connecticut’s transportation systems and infrastructure into the 21^st century. Working with Connecticut’s congressional delegation, he has secured billions of dollars of federal funding to improve rail safety, promote climate resiliency, and protect Long Island Sound and Connecticut’s rivers and streams.

His father, who fled Nazi Germany at age 18, and mother, who left Nebraska’s farmland to become a social worker, raised Sen. Blumenthal with a deep dedication to public service, a duty to give back by helping others and a bedrock belief in hard work. Those values carried him through his childhood and his education at Harvard College and Yale Law School. At Harvard, he was editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson and achieved Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude recognition. In law school, he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Review. He also worked as assistant to Daniel Patrick Moynihan when he was assistant to the President of the United States.

After graduating from law school in 1973, Sen. Blumenthal clerked for then U.S. District Judge Jon Newman and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun. Sen. Blumenthal then transitioned to lead the staff of Connecticut’s U.S. Sen. Abraham A. Ribicoff as an administrative assistant (a position now known as chief of staff).

Arranged by Bob Fiske

Video Presentation 

Summary of Presentation by Senator Blumenthal on 1/21/26

Senator Blumenthal thanked the group for the invitation to speak and reflected on his early years in public service. He paid tribute to Bob Fiske, a long-time DMA member who passed away last year. Bob and Blumenthal had been good friends. Bob had served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Blumenthal praised him as having been a great source of help to Blumenthal when he served as U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. Blumenthal pointed out that Fiske had emphasized the importance of cooperation among local, state, and federal law enforcement, and Blumenthal criticized what he describes as a breakdown in that relationship in Minneapolis, arguing that effective prosecutions require the trust and knowledge of the local community held by local police.

Addressing the possibility of a federal shutdown when the current Continuing Resolution expires at the end of January, Blumenthal said that he does not expect one because shutdowns have no winners and Congress has enough time to finish its appropriations before the Continuing Resolution expires. He pivoted to cost-of-living concerns about which he has heard from constituents he has visited throughout Connecticut, particularly electricity, food, and healthcare costs. He argued that continuing to subsidize health insurance coverage makes sense because it encourages preventive care and avoids the more expensive alternative of uninsured people relying on Emergency Room care at hospitals.

Speaking as ranking member on the Senate’s Veterans Affairs Committee, he said the VA has lost 30,000 staff, harming access to care, and he has held oversight hearings and created a report on this issue on that agency. On national security, he called for strong defense funding, especially submarines built in Connecticut, and expressed concern about China’s growing naval capacity. He has strongly supported aid to Ukraine, recounting his multiple visits there, and argued that U.S. support is essential to protecting American security and stopping Putin from seeking to restore Russia to the size of the former U.S.S.R. Blumenthal stressed the benefits of bipartisanship, citing his work on AI policy and the “Kids Online Safety Act” which passed the Senate overwhelmingly but stalled in the House amid Big Tech lobbying. He reminded members about a practical concern regarding USPS postmark practices, informing us that the USPS has acknowledged that due to recent process changes, postmarks are no longer a reliable indicator of the date a letter is mailed — important for time-sensitive filings.

In Q&A, he was asked for his view about imposing age limits for holding high public office. He replied that elections serve as the main “limit.” Reflecting on astory about Supreme Court Justice William Douglas suffering a stroke when Blumenthal was clerking for another Justice, noting that Douglas had to be persuaded to resign even though he had been hospitalized and had been unable to perform his duties, Blumenthal conceded that age limits might make sense for some senior roles. He added wryly that such limits would be difficult to enact because every office holder wants to hold office forever. On immigration, he endorsed comprehensive reform — border security plus an earned path to citizenship — and condemned demonization of immigrants, describing naturalization ceremonies as a powerful reminder of American ideals, including his own family’s immigrant story.

Pressed about President Trump and Ukraine, he refused to speculate about the President’s psychology but admitted to being baffled by President Trump’s posture because he believes that strength through allied relationships is needed to maintain peace. Asked about ICE and protests, he asserted that ICE agents have acted recklessly. He called for higher training and enforcement standards, and stated that excluding local police is a serious mistake. He also stressed that protests must remain peaceful.

Asked about America’s economic resilience and sufficiency of manufacturing capacity, he noted his support for current industrial policy in critical areas like semiconductors and tied supply-chain vulnerability to lessons learned during the COVID period. He also warned about market concentration. As an example of his concern, he asserted that consolidation and private equity ownership of fire truck manufacturers have led to higher prices, delays in delivery dates and reduced ability for purchasers to customize.

Asked how the U.S. can restore civil discourse, he replied that it starts with individual responsibility and leaders modeling restraint. On the issue of whether the U.S. should acquire Greenland, he argued the U.S. can pursue resources and security interests through investment and partnership rather than “bullying,” and he closed by emphasizing that alliances — especially NATO — are essential in a world of rising threats. He ended on a note of optimism, expressing confidence in American strength and civic engagement.