Stamford OKs 280 housing units including 28 affordable at former Burlington site

Robert Marchant

STAMFORD — Plans to build 280 apartment units on Broad Street near the Ferguson Library in downtown Stamford have been approved by the city Zoning Board.

The board added a number of conditions to its unanimous approval Dec. 2 for a special permit for large-scale development. Members said issues related to parking, a walkway at the site and rooftop amenities would have to worked out with city agencies before a building permit was issued. 

The proposed seven-story building would replace what used to be the Burlington Coat Factory.

"I can't wait to fix up this premier corner in downtown Stamford, which has been an eyesore for so many years," said Zoning Board Member  Rosanne McManus. 

The site has been ringed with scaffolding for more than four years, creating an unwelcoming appearance in the downtown neighborhood. 

Burlington closed in June 2024.

The city Planning Board in September gave its approvals for the project, put forward by developer Randy Salvatore. Salvatore told city officials he has a demolition company ready to go and that the empty store could be razed by early next year.

At a recent public hearing, reviews from neighbors were mixed, with some saying the site was perfect for a housing project and others worrying about increased traffic and the size of the buildings blocking out the light for neighboring buildings.

The apartments will be in a seven-story building at 74 Broad St. The complex will also include around 5,700 square feet of retail space and indoor and outdoor amenities, according to Planning Board documents. 

The apartments will consist of 51 studios, 110 one-bedroom and 119 two-bedroom apartments and range from 540 to 1,250 square feet in size. The mix and size of the apartments could change as the project moves forward, the documents say. 

 The proposed building would set aside 10 percent of the units as "affordable" for middle-income earners.

The 310 parking spaces for the project will be spread between three levels and will have spaces available for library patrons, residents and if need be the retail tenants of the project. The 1.67-acres of land the project will be on is zoned C-G, general commercial. Retail parking is not required since the development is within 500 feet of multiple public parking facilities and garages, according to Planning Board documents.  

In approving the special permits for the project, the Zoning Board said the plans met the long-term planning goals of the city administration, "to encourage the reconfiguration of existing office and retail space to accommodate market trends" and to encourage "ground floor retail and pedestrian activity."

Developer files plans in West Hartford to build 112 housing units at former rehab center site

Michael Walsh

WEST HARTFORD — A newly proposed housing development could see the creation of 112 new homes in town at the site of a former health and rehabilitation center.

New York-based Vessel Technologies has filed plans with the Town of West Hartford to construct a new building at the site, which formerly was the home of Hughes Health and Rehabilitation at 29 Highland St. until it closed in 2023.

Josh Levy, the company's executive vice president, said that the site's location, which is just off Farmington Avenue, was immediately attractive to them.

"What attracted me to the site was a number of things — the location obviously we thought was really excellent for multifamily housing," he said. "There's walkability associated with it. You're close to parks. You're surrounded by other multifamily buildings, which is something we desire."

The 112-unit building would be made up of rental units spread between 98 one-bedroom units, six two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom units. Levy said the chance to turn the site of the former rehabilitation center into something new — like housing people need — is always of interest to Vessel.

"One of things we always find really compelling is when there is a property that is underutilized or has sort of fallen into disrepair and it can have a second life," Levy said. "Single-family homes always have second, third and fourth lives. But a lot of times, commercial buildings end up sort of sitting there and collecting dust because there's not an economic way of restoring them and there isn't a way of continuing the current use. There's nothing that ends up getting done that's positive. We think it's a great opportunity to fit within the community."

The proposal will be submitted under the state's 8-30g application guidelines and will offer 30 percent of its units as affordable housing with half of those being set aside for to those making 60 percent of the area median income or less and the other half marked for those making 80 percent of the area median income or less. The rest of the housing will be market rate, but Levy said Vessel refers to that as "attainable" housing as its rental prices will likely come in at a lower amount than other similar multifamily housing developments in the area.

"That's always our goal, to have units that are less expensive than typical class A units," Levy said. "We want to offer class A units at a discount. We try to provide a better value for people. That way we can provide better housing for more people in the community who need it."

Vessel has been met with some resistance in neighboring communities, like in Simsbury where the company had to sue the town to clear the way to build a 48-unit development. Vessel also has a development on the way in Avon. Connecticut municipalities in general have met developers that are looking to build housing with hurdles to clear by denying thousands of homes over the last few years.

In West Hartford, though, town leaders continue to approve developments that come their way. Levy said that so far, the town has met Vessel with positive feedback. 

"West Hartford's a very progressive community," Levy said. "Progressive in the way the staff thinks as well as in the way the boards think and operate and just the citizens who live here and are part of the community."

Kristen Gorski, West Hartford's director of economic development, said Vessel's approach is "unique" compared to others.

"It's just a very different type of construction than we’ve ever seen," Gorski said. "I really appreciate how they look at it from a lens of energy efficiency. We are a community that's been so focused on trying to encourage more affordable units in town. It's not just the affordable units they provide on a technical level, it's the other market-rate units that are more attainable."

Levy also said Vessel has a sustainable approach to its buildings, including solar panels, as well as net-zero goals. Its construction process differs from other developers too, as the company uses prefabricated building model and parts. Levy said that means that once they enter on-site construction, they'll likely only need six to eight months to complete a project, meaning a shorter construction window and a quicker move-in date for tenants.

Vessel Technologies will formally be filing its plans during the Town Council's Dec. 10 meeting. It will be asking the town to rezone the 2.3-acre site from single-family zoning to a multifamily residence district, something the Town Council hasn't shied away from in the past. Levy hopes that if approved and built, the building will integrate into the West Hartford community.

"It used to be that housing was part of a community, not separate from a community," Levy said. "That's part of really what our goal is. What's the greatest amenity for housing? It's really the community. When people move to a place, it's a much more powerful experience to feel connected to the place you're living in, not to the building."

CT to support 771 new housing units, including low-income apartments, in 11 towns and cities

Ken Dixon

The first housing development in downtown Wilton over the last 30 years is among 14 state-supported projects totaling 771 units in 11 towns and cities, the state Department of Housing and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority has announced.

Nearly 300 of the total units will be classified as affordable for low and moderate-income renters, with eligibility based on percentages of the median income in the various towns, including Bridgeport, Cheshire, Derby, Farmington, Greenwich, Haddam, New Haven, New London, Norwalk, Shelton and Wilton. Fifty six units will be permanent supportive housing for clients in the state Department of Developmental Services. It's part of a statewide effort to create as many as 90,000 dwelling units for those who will fill an estimated 75,000 job vacancies.

In a statement from the housing agencies, the projects will receive $57 million in loans and grants from the DOH and low-income housing and other tax credits from CHFA. The program is expected to create more than $45 million in private investment, as well as $22.4 million in first-mortgage financing.

In reaction to the announcement, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, D-East Hartford, said Thursday that the developments are positive steps at a time when Connecticut needs tens of thousands of new housing units to spur the economy and fill the estimated 75,000 job openings.

"I think this announcement is exciting and another step in the right direction especially in affordable housing," Duff said on Thursday. "That's what we need. We need to think about building, growing our economy and meeting the need out there. These will certainly help."

Duff and Rojas have been regularly leading a round table of state officials and private sector representatives in an attempt to address the state's housing shortage.

"Yesterday's announcement of state financing support for critically needed housing was a welcomed one," Rojas said. "The projects included a broad mixed of market-rate, affordable and supportive housing options in different types of communities across the state. This is a significant expenditure of public money, and we have an opportunity to broaden the impact of public investment if we can reduce the time and money it takes to navigate land use permitting processes and other regulatory burdens." 

The DOH and CHFA said that many of the affordable units will be open to residents making 80% of area median incomes. Statewide, the annual median income for a family of three is $122,516. More than 100 of the overall units will get support from the Build for CT program, aimed at providing funding for multifamily buildings and middle-income renters.

"The need for affordable and supportive housing in Connecticut is urgent, and these 14 developments reflect our shared commitment to meeting that demand,” said Seila Mosquera-Bruno, state housing commissioner. “With funding from the Department of Housing, we are providing resources that enable communities to grow while creating homes that are accessible, affordable, and supportive of residents’ unique needs.”

“These developments highlight the transformative power of public-private partnerships in addressing Connecticut’s diverse housing needs,” said CHFA Executive Director Nandini Natarajan. “CHFA remains committed to working with our partners to ensure these investments foster vibrant, inclusive communities across the state."

The new Wilton Center Lofts, which officials believe will be the first downtown housing units in 30 years, will have a $1.75 million loan from the Build for CT program. It will consist of 40 units, half of which will be for people whose incomes range between 60% and 120% of the median income.

Other developments include:

Hanover Street Residences in Bridgeport will be three new three-family houses on the site where previous buildings were lost to fire. The units will be for families at or below 80% of the median income. The DOH is awarding an $815,000 grant to the project, which is a partnership with Baldwin Holdings Inc. and Park City Communities, the local housing authority.

Cheshire Highland in Cheshire will be 71 units of new construction near Route 691,with 56 designated as affordable, for people earning between 30% and 80% of the average median income. Fifteen units will be dedicated to DDS clients. The DOH will provide about $1.9 million in funding, with CHFA supplying $6.4 million in financing for the development, which will have $14 million in private investments.

Jack's Farm Housing in Cheshire will be a new 45-unit development of one-, two- and three-bedroom units with nearly $21 million in funding from the DOH in a partnership with the Cheshire Housing Authority. The development will include storage, a meeting room, a resident coordinator office and a 1,200-square-foot community room. All of the units will be affordable for renters with incomes up to 80% of the median income.

Trolley Pointe in Derby, the first new building in the south side of the city's long-lingering Route 34 renovation by the Department of Transportation, will get a $12.6 million loan for the 105-unit apartment building and parking garage. Twenty one of the units will be for people making between 60% and 80% of the median.

The new, 90-unit development at 1600 New Britain Avenue in Farmington will include 20 supportive housing units. Sixty eight units will be for people with incomes between 30% and 80% of the median. A CHFA tax credit is projected to raise $17 million in private investment and $8 million in other financing. The DOH will provide about $5.5 million.

The latest construction phase at Armstrong Court in Greenwich will be 48 new, affordable two and three-bedroom apartments for households making between 50% and 60% of median incomes. Armstrong Court is currently a 144-unit development in six buildings.

In Haddam, the second phase of Blueway Commons will use a $1.25 million loan to build 32 units, about a third of which will be for people with incomes between 60% and 80% of the median. The first phase had 22 units.

In New Haven a Neighborhood Revitalization Pilot Project on Hazel Street will have four two-unit buildings. The buildings will each have one unit for ownership and one for rent, using about $4 million in state funding. In another project, on Richard Street, nine buildings with 23 units will be rehabilitated. Renters with incomes between 25% and 60% of the median will be eligible.

In New London, the second phase of a rental development at 433 Bayonet Street will use $6 million in federal pandemic relief and more than $5 million from the Department of Housing for the development of a three-story, 36-unit building for people earning between 30% and 100% of the median.

In Norwalk, at 24 Berkley St. there will be five new three-bedroom townhouses for families earning 30% of the median income. The development, including about $2 million in state support, will be in cooperation with Open Doors, a 40-year-old local nonprofit agency.

Also in Norwalk, at 370 West Ave., there will be 204 new constructed units, 40 of which will be available to those with incomes between 60% and 80% of the median. The development will include 4,000 square feet of retail space.

On Shelton's Bridgeport Avenue, Langanke’s Landing, on the site of a former longtime florist and greenhouse near Route 8, will be a four-story 55-unit building with a dozen dwellings available to people with incomes of 60% to 80% of the median. The development will be supported by nearly $1.4 million in state funds.

Watertown parking lot project prompts ethics questions

Andrew Brown

Erik Markiewicz, a former chairman of Watertown’s Republican town committee, cast a vote in early 2022 recommending the municipality spend more than $1.5 million in federal funds to purchase a property in town and build a new parking lot at that site.

Now, more than two years later, Markiewicz’s construction company — Complete Services — is being paid an undisclosed amount of money to construct that parking facility, prompting questions about how his business was selected for that work and whether his involvement in the project is ethical.

Markiewicz was one of 11 members of a town committee that provided recommendations to Watertown’s elected leaders about how to spend millions of dollars in federal relief funds that were provided to the town through the American Rescue Plan Act.

And he was one of nine people on that committee who supported the plan to purchase a 0.7-acre lot along Main Street where the town could construct a new parking lot.

Many Connecticut towns and cities established advisory committees to help municipal leaders decide how to spend the federal ARPA money they received in response to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the parking lot, Watertown also appropriated ARPA money for other sidewalk and paving projects.

Several officials in Watertown, including the chairwoman of the town council, said they don’t see any conflict between Markiewicz’s earlier vote as a member of the ARPA committee and his company being paid as part the ongoing construction project.

But not everyone in town agrees. A small number of elected officials and Watertown residents began questioning Markiewicz’s involvement in the parking lot project in recent months, after his company’s equipment was spotted the construction site.

“Seeing a member of the ARPA selection committee benefit financially from a decision he participated in is very poor optics and raises questions in the public’s mind about business ethics,” Richard Rozanski, a town resident, told the town council during a recent meeting.

Watertown’s ethics code and purchasing rules require town officials to advertise municipal contracts worth more than $25,000 and to solicit public bids for that work.

But Mary Ann Rosa, the Republican chairwoman of Watertown’s council, emphasized those laws do not apply to Markiewicz’s situation because the town did not hire his company directly.

“We didn’t have anything to do with it,” Rosa said.

Instead, Watertown officials structured the deal so that Mark Greenberg, the current owner of the property, would privately select a construction team to build the parking lot to the town’s specifications prior to the land changing hands, effectively circumventing the public bidding process.

Records reviewed by The Connecticut Mirror show the town estimated Greenberg’s property to be worth roughly $1 million, based on its tax value, and it agreed to pay Greenberg $1.5 million for the land and the finished parking lot.

Mark Raimo, the town manager, said the town initially intended to build the parking lot itself, but he recommended the town council drop that plan due to “frequent leadership changes” in the public works department and the town’s engineering team being tied up in other projects.

That decision ensured that members of the public were unable to review the bids for that construction work or to learn how much Markiewicz and other contractors are earning from the project.

Both Markiewicz and Greenberg declined to reveal how much Complete Services is being paid to build the new parking lot because they said it is a private business deal.