Dan Patrick moving studio from downtown to Naugatuck Avenue

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Sportscaster Dan Patrick plans to relocate the studio for his radio and television sports talk show from downtown Milford to a building at 363 Naugatuck Avenue. The applicant hopes to have the new studio in operation within three months.

The Planning and Zoning Board voted unanimously at its Jan. 15 meeting to grant a special permit and site plan approval for a media production studio. The plans call for renovating the existing building with minimal exterior changes.

The board agreed to the applicant’s request for a finding of parking adequacy, saying only 19 parking spaces are needed for the studio. If the structure were used as an office building, 75 parking spaces would be required. The project received no public comment.

City Planner David B. Sulkis commented on the project by saying, “It’s a nice, low impact reuse of an existing building.”

Eric Jones, associate director of creative operations for AT&T, which produces The Dan Patrick Show, said the show has been broadcast for eight years from a studio above the Subway restaurant in downtown Milford, but has outgrown that space.

Jones said the plans call for a 5,500-square-foot field house set with a half-sized basketball court and a kitchen, and an outdoor set with a gazebo and grill.

“We are hoping to open within three months,” said Jones.

Jones said the studio would have 12 employees on site, seven full-time and five part-time. There would also be the occasional guest. He said there would be 18 parking spaces, including one handicap-accessible space.

According to Jones, Dan Patrick and his wife Susan have lived in Milford for more than 20 years, and this project would allow the show to remain in Milford.

Attorney Thomas Lynch said the show is broadcast on the AT&T Sports Network, and on DirecTV. Lynch said the interior renovations have already started and the hope is to have the studio ready by April.

Architect Alan Lagocki said sound walls would be installed inside to screen out street noise, and there will be reflective film on the windows. Lagocki said part of the building would be used for set storage. He said a recreational vehicle set is part of the show.

Eric Zawatski, project engineer, said the area on the western side of the property would not be used, and will be blocked off by a locked gate. He said the parking lot would receive a seal coating and would be striped. The two driveway aprons, and damaged areas of sidewalks would be replaced.

Filters will be added to the existing drainage basins to clean the water before it drains into the adjacent Beaver Brook. The plans include adding lighting to the parking lot, and plantings along Naugatuck Avenue. The gazebo at the rear would have an eight-foot high visual barrier around it. There will be a fence around the generator at the front.

Lynch said if AT&T were required to have additional parking, it would have to complete $150,000 to $200,000 in drainage improvements to the portion of the property that it is not using, and does not anticipate needing.

The 18,000-square-foot building with a 2,500-square-foot canopy was most recently occupied by United Rentals. The 1.36-acre property located in the Corridor Design Development District-2 (CDD-2) is owned by 363 Naugatuck Ave. LLC, which purchased the property on April 2, 2018 for $1,075,000.