Developer Receives Two Design Awards For Liberty At Newtown

By Andrew Gorosko

Ginsburg Development Corporation (GDC), the Westchester-based development firm that is constructing the 96-unit Liberty at Newtown age-restricted condominium complex at 178 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6) in Hawleyville, has received two design awards for the project from the Connecticut Home Builders Association.

The firm received the 2004 awards in the categories “best attached active adult community,” and also “best attached active adult home” for its Jefferson model.

The Jefferson model, at 2,312 square feet, is one of seven types of apartments being constructed at Liberty at Newtown, said Thomas Gissen, executive vice president of GDC.

The other models in decreasing floor area are: the Adams, 2,309 sf; the Madison, 2,188 sf; the Hamilton, 2,023 sf; the Franklin, 1,650 sf; the Grant, 1,450 sf; and the Eisenhower, 1,380 sf.

Based on its November 12 listings, prices for the dwellings range from approximately $415,000 for a basic unit to approximately $640,000 for an elaborate design. Beyond the base price, additional features and building material upgrades are available as options.

The typical buyer upgrades his or her unit with between $20,000 and $40,000 of additional features and material upgrades, Mr Gissen said. Such upgrades concern kitchens, bathrooms, gas-fired fireplaces, flooring, and trim.

When completed by May 2006, the complex will contain 12 residential buildings, each of which will hold eight dwellings, Mr Gissen said. Each building contains an elevator, a feature that was required for GDC to comply with the town’s zoning regulations. Each dwelling contains fire sprinklers as a safety feature. The units have wider-than-normal doorways, plus handicapped accessible bathrooms.

Currently, 19 dwellings are occupied, 42 units are under contract to be sold, 15 dwellings are on the market for sale, and 20 units have not yet been released for sale, Mr Gissen said.

“This a luxury product at a luxury price,” Mr Gissen said of Liberty at Newtown. “We’ve created a very high-end niche townhome,” he said.

Many people who have moved to the complex or plan to move there are from Westchester County and from Ridgefield, he said. The complex is designed to appeal to affluent couples over age 55 who are no longer living with their children, he said.

People moving to Liberty at Newtown tend to be reducing the size of their residence, while upgrading its level of quality, he said.

Those who have moved there tend to be corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and professional people, Mr Gissen said, adding that some residents work full-time, others are retired, and some are semiretired.

The complex includes a clubhouse for its residents. That building contains a social room, kitchen, billiards room, and exercise room, with an adjacent outdoor swimming pool and golf-shot chipping area.

GDC, which has been in business for 40 years, offers a high level of architectural detail in its complexes, Mr Gissen said. “We’re very design-intensive,” he added.

“I think people generally are surprised by the architectural level of detail and the attention to landscaping detail,” he said.

A condominium association for Liberty at Newtown has been formed and will take over the complex’s management when the project is completely built, Mr Gissen said. The current common fees for the complex are $306 monthly. Those fees cover exterior maintenance such as lawn mowing, snow removal, painting, and street repair.

 Liberty at Newtown offers its residents a good location that is within easy reach of Danbury and also not far from the center of Newtown, Mr Gissen said. The complex is on a section of Route 6 that lies between Exits 8 and 9 of Interstate 84.

After lengthy review, the Newtown Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approved construction of Liberty at Newtown in August 2002.