92 Units In Hawleyville ––

P&Z To Review

Housing Complex Plan

By Andrew Gorosko

Ginsburg Development Corporation, Connecticut LLC, this week delivered to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) multiple sets of plans for its proposed Liberty at Newtown, a 92-unit multifamily complex for people over 55 envisioned for a 40-acre site on Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville.

The P&Z plans to conduct a July 11 public hearing on Ginsburg’s application for a special exception to the zoning regulations to build the complex.

Following its June 12 approval for wetlands protection and stormwater-control aspects of the project from the Conservation Commission, Ginsburg made some revisions to its mapping dated June 13, and then submitted the plans to the P&Z on June 17.

Ginsburg holds an option to buy the site from M&D, LLC. The rugged property at 178 Mt Pleasant Road lies on the north side of the street, across Mt Pleasant Road from Cassio Kennels. The Ginsburg site has 455 feet of street frontage. Residential buildings would be set back well from the street.

Municipal sewers and United Water’s public water supply system would serve the site. Utilities including electric lines, natural gas, telephone, and cable television service would be buried on the site.

A 1,700-foot-long private road would serve the property. Two spur roads would extend off that road. The site would hold three four-building clusters. Most buildings would contain eight apartments. The buildings would consist of two-story and three-story sections. All living space would be located on a single level. Storage areas would be accessible via a common elevator within each building. Each unit would have two enclosed parking spaces.

Sale prices for units would range from $300,000 to $400,000. The facility would include a clubhouse, exercise facility, and outdoor swimming pool. Ginsburg describes the proposal as a “common interest ownership community,” which is similar in nature to a condominium complex.

Floor plan drawings submitted by Ginsburg to the P&Z depict a variety of units, ranging in floor area from 1,895 square feet to 2,275 square feet.

The complex would be constructed in three phases. A landscaping plan submitted for the project lists tree and shrub species that would be planted. Trees include red maple, sugar maple, green ash, pin oak, linden, birch, pear, dogwood, magnolia, fir, pine, and spruce. Shrubs would include azalea, hydrangea, holly, juniper, mountain laurel, rhododendron, yew, and blueberry.

Antique-style lightposts would illuminate the complex. The project would have a 50-foot minimum separation distance between buildings and would have a maximum 150-foot building length. The site would contain 218 parking spaces.

Ginsburg states that the presence of a 92-unit complex would not damage nearby property values, adding that significant undeveloped area would buffer adjacent properties.

Last February, Ginsburg gained tentative approval from the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) for an expansion of the Hawleyville sewer district to allow the developer to use municipal sewers for the complex.

In 1999, Avalon Bay Communities had proposed building 304 rental apartments on the site, including 76 units designated as affordable housing. Avalon Bay dropped its plans for the project after encountering difficulty in getting town approval for sewer service. At that time, the Hawleyville sewer system was still in the planning stages.

In September 2001, Ginsburg sought and received two changes of zone from P&Z for the 40-acre Hawleyville site, converting the property’s former “residential” and “professional” zoning designations to an “elderly housing” designation, where high-density, multifamily complexes for people over age 55 are allowed. At that time, P&Z members said they considered the site a suitable location for housing for the elderly.

In June 2001, Ginsburg sought and received an endorsement for its Hawleyville project from the Economic Development Commission. The town built the Hawleyville sewer system to foster economic development. Economic development more generally is considered to be industrial, commercial, or office development. Ginsburg has explained that because the complex would not contain school-age children, it would not create any additional demand for costly public education.