Neighbors’ concerns were eased Thursday as the development team for the proposed Atlantic Wharf apartment complex outlined changes to their plans in response to comments from town officials and neighbors.
“A great presentation. Kudos to your team,” Robert Costanzo told the developers at Thursday’s public hearing at the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission. Costanzo’s Wilford Avenue home abuts the 256 Meadow St. site where one of the apartment buildings is proposed.
Costanzo, pictured at left above, listened as David S. Golebiewski, president of TPA Design Group in New Haven, pictured at right, responded to questions. The mood Thursday seemed more congenial than a year ago when several neighbors expressed concerns about the project. Click here to read about public hearings for the Atlantic Wharf Master Plan and Planned Development District (PDD).
The 7.5 acre complex along the Branford River will include 10 buildings—including six that will be residential and commercial; and four that will be only residential. Plans call for 205 upscale apartments, featuring 30 studio units; 125 one-bedroom units; and 50 two-bedroom units. The apartments will be targeted to millennials—young professionals in their early 30s.
Stages of Construction Outlined
“There was particular concern over how we were going to do this,” Golebiewski said Thursday in regard to how the project will be staged. He said the first of five stages will be the demolition and cleanup at the dilapidated Atlantic Wire factory. The second stage will be construction of the apartment at 256 Meadow St. which is across from the factory; and the next three stages will include construction of the other nine buildings on the factory site, and the new roadway. The occupants of the first-floor commercial venues have not been identified, but could include restaurants, offices and retail.
The current public hearings focus on the site plans and coastal site plans for the project. The hearing will be continued at the Jan. 7 meeting. The PDD and Master Plans were approved in February. Click here to read that story.
Also at Thursday’s P&Z meeting, the commissioners discussed a recent proposal by developer Alex Vigliotti for a housing project which includes some affordable housing units; approved a recommendation for the town to acquire Foote Park; and scheduled an informal presentation for a 14.5 acre parcel on Tabor Drive.
Summer Talks
“This summer, we met with neighbors from Wilford Avenue,” said developer Robert H. Smith Jr., CEO and founder of the Milford-based Metro Star Properties LLC. Smith, pictured above, said they discussed multiple details of the Atlantic Wharf plans and made adjustments in response to neighbors’ concerns.
The development team said a 25-foot buffer, including trees and fences, will separate the Meadow Street apartment building from Wilford Avenue homes. Construction vehicles will be prohibited from using Church Street, as residents requested. And music at restaurants must not exceed speaking levels.
The above photo shows three views of Building A, which is the one near the Wilford Avenue homes.
Some ongoing concerns of residents Thursday centered around the amount of traffic the project will generate, especially since the proposed senior center project is slated for the nearby Community House on Church Street. Estimates indicate there will be 4,018 new vehicles a day when the project is completed.
Wilford Avenue resident Maureen Gercken, said the new senior center will generate more traffic and will not have enough parking. “How is it going to impact the area where we live,” she asked in regard to both construction projects.
The Details
The public hearings were originally slated for early November, but Golebiewski said the team asked for more time when they saw the number of comments in the staff report. He said the team wanted to “do our homework” and address all the issues.
“The devil’s in the details,” said Town Planner Harry Smith, pictured above, as he discussed the 17-page staff report.
The staff report included major items like the developers’ plans to design a new road through the complex and realign the convoluted intersection of Meadow and Montowese streets and Pine Orchard Road. The report also touched on drainage, landscaping, lighting, and even the location of mailboxes.
Most of the issues have been resolved. Smith said one of the remaining issues is access to the underground parking garage. He said another access point to the garage would be helpful since there isn’t a lot of street parking for the proposed restaurants or retail establishments facing the Branford River. “This is new territory for all of us,” he said in regard to the underground garage.
Plans call for a total of 379 parking spaces, including 195 in the proposed parking garage. The developer said he may consider an additional access to the garage, but he said that having people circulate through the complex is important for retail businesses.
David Sullivan, a traffic engineer with Milone & MacBroom, who prepared a peer report for the commission, was called away due to an emergency. He is expected to speak at the January meeting.
Town engineer Janice Plaziak said the developers addressed most of the issues regarding stormwater drainage, roads and traffic, but there were still some issues remaining. She questioned the need for 4‑way stop signs at the new intersection of Church and Meadow streets.
The developers’ traffic engineer, Steve Ulman, of Alfred Benesch & Co in Gastonbury, said all intersections will have stop signs in all directions to help slow the traffic and to allow for better sight lines, especially with the on-street parking.
Ulman said the new intersection of Pine Orchard Road, Montowese Street and the new road will also have stop signs, although he did conduct a study regarding a traffic signal at that intersection. “It is our opinion that a signal should not be installed at this intersection at this time,” Ulman said, but added that the state Department of Transportation has the final say.
Ulman said he studied the four existing intersections and estimated the traffic for the new intersections. Ulman said there will be an estimated 4,018 new vehicles per day when the project is completed.
Sam Gardner of Gregg, Wies and Gardner Architects in New Haven, said the buildings were slightly revised to allow for the new configuration of the Church Street intersection that was requested by the town engineer during previous meetings.
“We wanted to keep the spirit of the original designs,” Gardner said in regard to the architecture.
“This is a walkable environment,” Gardner said as he displayed new sketches of the buildings. He said the buildings, which are all three-levels, will be below the 40-foot height cap that was approved in the PDD.
Commissioner John Lust asked if utilities along the streets could be placed underground.
“That would be almost next to impossible with our timeframe,” said Robert Smith. He said obtaining permits from the utility companies would take a very long time, and would be extremely expensive. “It’s a real difficult issue to address,” the developer said.
The site plans were approved by the Town Center Revitalization Review Board (TCRRB) which makes recommendations on projects in the Town Center Village District.
Other Projects
During the nearly 4‑hour meeting, the commission dealt with a number of other projects.
— — They discussed a proposal by developer Alex Vigliotti to create a zoning map amendment for an Incentive Housing Overlay District (IHOD) at 14, 21 and 22 Summit Place. The plan would include 115 apartment units, of which 20 percent would be for moderate income families, also known as “work force” housing. Click here to read about this project.
No decision was made, and the commissioners agreed to continue their deliberations at the Jan. 7 meeting.
—- They approved a recommendation for the town to acquire Foote Park, provided the property remains as open space recreational. This project is dependent on approval from other town boards and commissions. Jim Finch, the town’s finance director, made a presentation on the Foote project to the Board of Finance Monday. No vote was required. The Representative Town Meeting (RTM) is expected to vote on the project Wednesday. Click here to read about the proposal.
—- They scheduled an informal presentation for Jan. 21 to hear a proposal from Kevin O’Neill to create a Planned Development District (PDD) for a 14.5‑acre site along Tabor Drive, adjacent to the town’s closed landfill. O’Neill, president of Cherry Hill Glass Co. on Elm Street, is the prospective buyer of the property, which is currently owned by the Zuwalick family. The proposed PDD would change the current zoning from residential to a mix of institutional, commercial and light industrial uses.
The 14.5 acre Tabor Drive site was one of seven sites originally considered for the town’s new public works facility in 2011. The nearby 77-acre town-owned Tabor Drive property was subsequently chosen for public works, but was later rejected and the project never materialized.
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As one of the "neighbors" you refer to in your headline, I take exception to the statement that we are all "aboard" with Atlantic Wharf. Are we pleased that the developer made some concessions that were requested regarding such things as lighting, fencing, and dumpster placement? Yes. But that is a far cry from being "aboard". These concessions, I might add, were hard fought for by our neighborhood in the form of private and public meetings with the developer and the town. Some of the neighbors actually had to hire legal representation.
This densely packed development, as well as the proposed addition to the Community House/Senior Center are going to have a major impact on an otherwise quiet, residential, and may I add historic neighborhood. We are just trying to minimize the potential negative impact of a situation that appears was "a go" even before the first public hearing took place.
Currently our issue is not so much with the developer as with the town, who seems determined to remove stop signs from the project. We feel that Church Street will become a main thoroughfare and any means to deter or slow down traffic would be in the public's best safety interest. The developer agrees and incorporated several stop signs into his plans to minimize the increased traffic impact, but the town engineer feels many of these stops signs be remove. So, our neighborhood will continue our discourse.