Multifamily Housing, Commercial Growth Topped 2005 Land Use

By Andrew Gorosko

Although proposed single-family residential development continued to receive town approvals during 2005, the focus of local growth shifted to multifamily projects and commercial expansion.

As 2005 came to a close, two major age-restricted condominium proposals were pending before the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).

Toll Brothers, Inc, a Pennsylvania-based developer, proposes the 54-unit Regency at Newtown at an environmentally sensitive 51-acre site at 21 Oakview Road, near Newtown High School. The firm has been seeking various town approvals since February 2004 for that condo complex intended for people over age 55.

Since October, the developer has been working out the details of the project with P&Z members. P&Z action on the condo complex proposal may come in January.

Also, P&Z members are considering a change of zone requested by a New Canaan developer who wants to build a 56-unit age-restricted condo complex at the Alberts Hill Road site of the former Cornerstone of Eagle Hill, a private drug/alcohol rehabilitation hospital that closed several years ago.

Developer Jack Dweck, doing business as Pine Crest Estates, Inc, is seeking to rezone a 20-acre property at 32 Alberts Hill Road from R-2 (Residential) to EH-10 (Elderly Housing).

Nearby property owners have mounted strong opposition to the condo proposal, charging that redeveloping the site with 56 dwellings would be unwise, creating a development density that is too high for that remote area, which does not have a public water supply or public sanitary sewers.

Project opponents have charged that such development would bring additional traffic to hazardous roads in the area, create environmental problems, damage property values, and deplete underground water supplies, plus adversely affect the area’s character.

The developer has responded that the proposed condo complex is a practical and realistic approach to redeveloping the former hospital property. The P&Z may act on the requested change of zone for the site in January.

Commercial Growth

Following a six-month review, the P&Z in April approved construction of Plaza South, a planned 68,000-square-foot shopping center on South Main Street, which will be the largest such facility to be built in Newtown in a decade. The once-controversial development proposal had drawn opposition from the owners of the adjacent Sand Hill Plaza, as well as nearby residents.

Although the project received the P&Z’s unanimous approval, several P&Z members expressed concerns about vehicle access to the site stemming from the shopping center’s planned South Main Street entrance. 

TP Properties, LLC, of Danbury plans to build a complex including a 64,000-square-foot main building, containing several tenants, plus a 4,000-square-foot adjacent building containing a bank.

The developer plans 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 sloped site is a former sand-and-gravel mine. The planned intersection of Plaza South’s driveway, South Main Street, and Button Shop Road would be controlled by a four-way traffic signal.

The adjacent 160,000-square-foot Sand Hill Plaza, which has been in operation for about 15 years, has a Super Stop & Shop supermarket as its prime tenant.

In July, the P&Z approved a developer’s proposal to convert the vacant former Newtown Manufacturing Company factory at 255-259 South Main Street into a retail center, which is planned to include a full-service restaurant, sandwich shop, ice cream shop, and a bank.

P&Z members voted to approve the project for Worldwide Properties, LLC, of Bridgeport. The 10.2-acre site lies on the east side of South Main Street, opposite the southern entrance to Sand Hill Plaza. The redevelopment plan calls for adding a large porch and a covered walkway to the 12,360-square-foot former factory building, thus increasing the structure’s overall roof area to 16,015 square feet.

In October, the P&Z approved Berkshire Plaza, a 14,580-square-foot retail/office complex planned for 146-148 South Main Street. Monaco Properties, LLC of New Haven is the developer of the steep 2.35-acre site.

Monaco plans the retail/office center for the west side of South Main Street, across South Main Street from Newtown Self Storage. The 2½-story commercial building is intended for up to eight retail tenants and four office tenants.

A nearby property owner has challenged the P&Z’s retail/office center approval in Danbury Superior Court.

At least two other commercial proposals are pending for South Main Street.

Developer Robert Mastroni proposes the construction of a 6,000-square-foot commercial building for stores and/or offices at 224 South Main Street, just north of Sand Hill Plaza.

Also, a firm known as 50 South Main Street Associates, LLC, proposes the construction of a 4,500-square-foot office/retail building at 50 South Main Street, near Newtown Country Club.

In August, construction work started on the corner of Church Hill Road and Queen Street for a 17,154-square-foot three-building retail/office complex known as The Shoppes at Church Hill and Queen. The 2.2-acre site formerly held the White Birch Inn and Village Texaco.

Webster Bank will open a new 3,400-square-foot retail bank branch and three-lane drive-through facility with an ATM in the new center. Project completion is expected by midyear.

To spruce up Sandy Hook Center, the town last fall made some initial improvements to Church Hill Road there. The Sandy Hook Streetscape Project includes new textured sidewalks, ornamental trees, and antique-style lampposts positioned along Church Hill Road. The project is intended to beautify the area, with the goal of attracting more visitors to economically stimulate the compact business district.

Future improvements are planned for sections of Glen Road, Riverside Road, and Washington Avenue.

Court Appeal

In another land use matter, the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut, Inc, is seeking approval from the Connecticut Appellate Court to file a formal appeal that would challenge a recent Danbury Superior Court decision that upheld the P&Z’s February 2003 rejection of a society proposal to build a 7,600-square-foot temple/meeting hall at its ten-acre property in a residential area at 145 Boggs Hill Road. The society has a Buddhist monastery there.

Following lengthy consideration, P&Z members in February 2003 unanimously rejected the temple/meeting hall proposal, noting that the Buddhists’ envisioned use of the property, involving increased traffic and noise, would be “far too intense for this particular site.” The temple/meeting hall proposal drew heavy opposition from nearby property owners, who listed traffic problems and noise among their main complaints.

In March 2003, citing religious freedom, as protected by federal and state law, the society filed a Danbury Superior Court appeal in seeking to overturn the P&Z’s rejection of its application. Through that appeal, which later failed, the society had sought to have a judge order the P&Z to approve the temple/meeting hall application.

Also, a local private, nonprofit environmental protection group is forming, which is dedicated to preserving the environmental quality of the Pootatuck River, its watershed, and its underlying aquifer. The Pootatuck Watershed Association (PWA) plans to incorporate soon to serve as a watchdog group for water quality protection.