Subdivision Proposed For

Old Hawleyville Road

By Andrew Gorosko

In the continuing residential development of Hawleyville, two firms are proposing the construction of a 24-house subdivision off Old Hawleyville Road, near Interstate 84.

HW 1945, LLC, and Charter Group, Inc, of Brookfield are proposing Meridian Ridge for approximately 60 acres at 30 Old Hawleyville Road, on the north side of that residential street.

The site is northeast of I-84 and southwest of the Housatonic Railroad’s freight rail line. The property is generally wooded and contains a stream and trail network.

The developers propose altering 4,500 square feet of wetlands and modifying 50 linear feet of stream channel as part of their construction proposal. The property has R-1 Acre and R-2 Acre residential zoning.

Stormwater retention basins would be constructed on the site to regulate runoff, which flows off the property during and after storms.

The developers have submitted their proposal to the Conservation Commission, which will review it as the town’s wetlands agency. About eight acres of the site are designated as wetlands. If approved by that panel, the proposal would be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) for further review.

More than 14 acres of designated open space would be donated by the developers for passive forms of recreation, such as hiking and nature study.

A road known as Meridian Ridge Drive would enter the parcel at 30 Old Hawleyville Road and connect to Fairfield Drive in Brookfield. A dead end street, known as Crosswind Court, would extend off Meridian Ridge Drive in Hawleyville, near the Brookfield town line. The developers propose building 4,125 linear feet of 22-foot-wide roadways to serve the 24 house lots.

To cross a wet area on the site, the developers propose installing a concrete-arch bridge.

Stuart Somers, Company, LLC, is the engineering/surveying firm representing the developers.

Town Conservation Official C. Stephen said the developers may seek to create several additional house lots on contiguous land that they own off Fairfield Drive in Brookfield.

The Meridian Ridge proposal is the latest of several development projects that have been advanced for Hawleyville during the past several years.

 Ginsburg Development Corporation, Connecticut, LLC, currently is proposing construction of 92 multifamily units for people over 55, known as Liberty at Newtown, on a 40-acre site at 178 Mt Pleasant Road. The units would be for sale. That proposal is pending before the P&Z.

In 1999, Avalon Bay Communities had proposed building 304 rental apartments at that site, 76 of which would have been designated as “affordable housing.” That project, however, never materialized.

In June 2000, the P&Z approved construction of Newtown Hunt, a 21-lot residential subdivision in a broad wet area in the Pond Brook watershed in Hawleyville. Toll Brothers, Inc, is currently building that project on 115 acres on Hawleyville Road and Farrell Road.

The Homesteads at Newtown, a 100-unit assisted-living rental apartment building for people over 55, opened in March 2001 at 166 Mt Pleasant Road. The Homesteads has also constructed 12 condominiums at adjacent 12 Pocono Road, which have never been occupied.

Although the P&Z approved construction of 298 total units at The Homesteads, including a 160-unit congregate housing complex, much of the planned construction has never materialized. The Homesteads is currently facing a private mortgage foreclosure proceeding against 12 Pocono Road, where the 12 unoccupied condominiums are located.