DARIEN — After months of digging down after demolition, construction on the Corbin District’s second phase is now beginning to take shape along Boston Post Road.
After completing the first half in late 2023, the ambitious redevelopment of downtown Darien is on track to welcome brand new businesses in summer 2026 and new residents that fall. Work on the underground parking garage for the seven-acre redevelopment is almost 90% complete and the project is now building upward, according to Baywater Properties CEO David Genovese. Baywater is the developer behind the project.
New structures for the six new buildings in the area bordered by the Post Road, Corbin Drive and the Interstate 95 highway offer a glimpse into what Baywater Properties calls “Where New York City meets New England.”
“It’s a crazy thing,” Genovese said. “The underground work feels quite complex and time consuming. I mean, we’ve been working to clear the site and prepare the garage and prepare for going vertical with the buildings since December of 2023.”
Right now, passers by can see the upper garage section, which will soon be wrapped by a new retail building. Originally, the space was set to include a 15,000 square foot storefront but was eventually shrunk to a 3,500 to 4,500 square foot anchor store with smaller spaces to be occupied by StretchLab, a permanent location for Darien Commons pop-up LaSource, and Greenwich-based boutique OGGI 5.
Genovese said the change allowed the Corbin District to increase parking — for both residents and visitors — and seek out a tenant that fits with the more local business-oriented district rather than a big box retailer.
“We didn’t think that the anchor tenant at the project, right at the gateway to the project and the gateway to the town, should be a big box store,” Genovese said. “We’re talking with some really high quality furniture stores, some high quality men’s and women’s retailers that we think are more appropriate for Darien and also for the project.”
For those wondering what the final district will look like, Genovese shared new renderings that show off some of the new amenities coming to downtown Darien. The district also has the town’s permission to close off Market Street, creating an open space reminiscent of a European plaza where people can co-mingle or dine outside on a nice day at one of the five restaurants on the street from, Corsica Wine Bar to Chopt.
“We just think it will create great energy — just (make) great activity and energy come to the place and really kind of enliven it,” Genovese said.
The second phase will include 78 new apartments — a total of 116 in the district — along with retail, restaurants, fitness studios and more. The Corbin District will also welcome several high-profile tenants with consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and professional services firm Aon setting up offices in the space.
According to Genovese, the main office building is about 72% pre-leased, with some office space in other locations not yet on the market.
The district’s retail space is about 68% pre-leased with another 9% in negotiation. Factoring in ongoing negotiations and letters of intent, the district could soon fill almost 98% of its space, Genovese said.
“We’re being very picky,” Genovese said. “It’s just all being done kind of word of mouth, and one tenant leads just to another tenant.”
As progress moves forward, Genovese said residents can expect to see the first buildings coming up in the next few weeks, starting with the one across from Webster Bank.
“The amazing thing is that when you really look at it, what’s happening is we’re building a new project in 2025 (that) really is reminiscent of the way things used to get built, with people living above their stores and living above businesses on the first floor,” he said. “New development, but really in the spirit of historic work