Revised Shopping Center Proposal Slated For P&Z Hearing

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) is scheduled to conduct a public hearing on a developer’s newly revised application to build a 66,000-square-foot shopping center on South Main Street, near Cold Spring Road, marking what would be the largest retail complex to be built in Newtown in almost a decade.

The hearing is slated for 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 3, at the Town Hall South conference room at 3 Main Street. The P&Z has shifted its normal meeting place from Canaan House at Fairfield Hills to Town Hall South.

TP Properties, LLC, of Danbury is proposing construction of Plaza South at 266-276 South Main Street, on the west side of that street, in the area lying between Sand Hill Plaza and Cold Spring Road. The 12.35-acre site has M-6 (Industrial) zoning. The sloped property is a former sand-and-gravel mine.

The proposal, scheduled to be aired at the February 3 public hearing, is the fourth version of the retail complex submitted by the developer to the P&Z for review. The businesses that would occupy the complex are yet to be disclosed, according to the developer.  

The development proposal was the subject of P&Z public hearings held in December and October.

At the December session, Botsford residents concerned about the potential negative side effects of a shopping center urged the P&Z to reject the application, and further urged the developer to scale down the plans to reduce a complex’s impact on the area.

In response to those criticisms, the developer has reworked the project’s design plans, which are on file at the P&Z offices. The P&Z offices are planned to be open starting on Monday, January 31, at the town’s new office space at 31 Peck’s Lane. The P&Z offices were scheduled to relocate from Canaan House at Fairfield Hills to Peck’s Lane during the weekend of January 28–30.

Attorney Ward Mazzucco, who represents TP Properties, said the developer has made design changes for the project, based on the past criticisms raised by P&Z members and by various nearby property owners.

 The project will now be known as “Plaza South,” instead of its former name of “Sand Hill Plaza South,” in order to avoid any potential confusion with the adjacent approximately 160,000-square-foot Sand Hill Plaza, which has been in operation for about 15 years.

Also, the main retail building at the proposed Plaza South would be reduced by 4,000 square feet in area, from the previously proposed 66,000 square feet to 62,000 square feet. A proposed 4,000-square-foot freestanding building also would be constructed at the site. The net result is a reduction in proposed enclosed space at the property from 70,000 square feet to 66,000 square feet.

In response to various criticisms, the developer has agreed to shift the larger building somewhat to the north on the site, moving the structure farther away from Cold Spring Road area residences and from Middle Gate School. Such a design change allows the developer to increase the proposed visual screening and buffer area lying between the retail building and the Cold Spring Road neighborhood, Mr Mazzucco said.

Also, the design of the proposed main building has been revised to relocate a truck loading dock from the south end of the building, which is nearer Cold Spring Road, to the west side of the building, which lies farther to the north and is farther away from the Cold Spring Road, the lawyer added.

During the December and October P&Z public hearings on previous versions of the complex, some nearby residents and P&Z members had urged that Plaza South be linked to Sand Hill Plaza by an internal driveway network, which would allow shoppers to travel between the two shopping centers without having to enter South Main Street.

Also, some people had urged that Plaza South not have its own access point to South Main Street. They instead called for access to Plaza South to be provided via the two existing entry points for the adjacent Sand Hill Plaza.

Mr Mazzucco said this week that neither an internal driveway network between the two complexes, nor a sole access point to both complexes from the Sand Hill Plaza driveways are proposed by TP Properties.

During the December P&Z public hearing on Plaza South, a lawyer representing Sand Hill Plaza had challenged various aspects of the Plaza South proposal.

Access to Plaza South would be provided at a four-way intersection of South Main Street, Button Shop Road, and a driveway for Plaza South. That intersection would be controlled by a traffic signal.