An request was submitted to Greenwich Planning & Zoning from the landlord and tenant at 91 Railroad Ave that would relieve the owners of a row of properties along the north side of Railroad Ave from parking requirements by amending rear building lines between the office building at 55 Railroad and M&T Bank at 410 Greenwich Ave.
Four of the five buildings are three-stories high with apartments above and were constructed in 1898, prior to Greenwich’s adoption of zoning regulations.
The two-story building at 85 Railroad Ave, home to Britt & Co Bagels on the ground floor, was constructed in 1950.
All of them are in the CGBR zone.
The applicant is Taco Project LLC.
According to a letter to the P&Z commission from attorney Tom Heagney for the applicant, “The Cigar Store has closed and a new tenant for the space is proposing to convert it to a restaurant. There is limited parking for all five of the buildings on Railroad Avenue, which are accessed by an easement from Greenwich Avenue.”
He continued, “These buildings represent a unique location and use which does not exist on other cross or side streets on Greenwich Avenue.”
About 50 years ago Greenwich eliminated some parking requirements for business zones in order to facilitate the creation of municipal parking lots, and rear building lines were adopted for properties fronting Greenwich Ave.
Over time, amendments have been made to extend rear building lines behind properties on Lewis Street and East and West Elm Street and the businesses rely on metered parking in municipal lots and on the street.
Of course there are times when it’s difficult to find a parking spot in a municipal lot or on the street in the area of Greenwich Avenue, and P&Z struggled when a 200+ seat restaurant was proposed in 2022 for the corner of Lewis St and Liberty Way.
Kyma was likened likened to a cruise ship in Greenwich Harbor, but the applicant cited the 1960 exemption from parking requirements.
Ultimately, Kyma’s approval included the condition that Kyma secure a proposed agreement with an office building at 67 Mason Street to lease 25 surface parking spots there in the evening. Construction is under way.
An application to P&Z requests an amendment to Section 205.1 of Greenwich’s schedule of building lines to add the north side of Railroad Ave between 410 Greenwich Ave and 55 Railroad Ave, including five properties in the CGBR zone: 99, 95, 91, 89-87 and 85 Railroad Ave.
Now empty store front of Te-Amo Cigars at 91 Railroad Ave, across from the Greenwich Train Station. Sept 22, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yagr
There is about 1,000 sq ft of retail space at 91 Railroad Ave, the former home to the cigar store.
The location is directly across the street from the Greenwich Train station where Greenwich Crossing, a $30 million revitalization project is under way that will include a 5,000-square-foot luxury restaurant where the Bow Tie Cinema previously stood.
The letter says four of the five properties proposed for the amendment are active restaurants, though Ollie’s 99 (formerly MacDuffs) at 99 Railroad Ave closed permanently last spring and remains empty.
The others are Thai Basil at 95 Railroad Ave and Plaza Restaurant at 87 Railroad Ave.
Britt & Co Bagels at 85 Railroad Ave is a shop with limited seating.
The application for the amendment is on the tentative agenda for the Sept 30, 2025 P&Z agenda.
