Project Description
Centerbrook designed Bedford Square, a mixed-use project that includes the repurposing of two iconic buildings, to serve as the gateway to downtown Westport, Connecticut. The development will invigorate this historic urban core with high quality retail, residential, office, restaurant and community gathering spaces. The project entails the complete renovation and restoration of the stately Bedford Building and Central Firehouse on a prominent site at the corner of Main Street and Boston Post Road, along with the removal and replacement of several structures. In place of these buildings is an intelligent and historically sensitive arrangement of commercial uses, much needed residential units and onsite underground parking. The complex also features community gathering spaces, public courtyards, tree-lined sidewalks and connecting pedestrian alleyways. The Tudor style Bedford Building was purpose-built and gifted to the Westport community as a YMCA in 1923 by Edward Thomas Bedford, a prominent business executive and philanthropist. The charm and integrity of the historic building and adjacent firehouse set the architectural tone, character and scale of the project. Centerbrook’s additions are a modern extension of that beloved aesthetic, keeping with the scale of the site, the downtown core and its neighbors. Residential units occupy upper floors with rooftop decks affording views to the piazza and downtown. Bedford Associates, which commissioned the 160,000-square-foot redevelopment project, secured national retailer Anthropologie & Co. as the anchor tenant to occupy the 40,000-square-foot Bedford Building. Roman trattoria Amis then opened next door in the Central Firehouse. The growing list of retail tenants includes: Barbour, HSBC Bank, M.Eat, Nic + Zoe, Savannah Bee, Serena & Lily, Whip Salon and Williams Sonoma.