With Permission
A Branford doctor received unanimous approval Thursday to restore an 1850 vintage house in the Town Center and create new offices and a surgical suite.
In other business, the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission agreed to postpone a public hearing for the proposed Sterling Ridge housing to give the developer a chance to meet with neighbors who are not happy with potential changes.
Diana Stricker Photo
And, the owners of the Planned Development District (PDD) at Exit 56 have asked for more time to submit plans for the site that once included Costco and seven retail buildings. That request will be discussed by the P&Z (pictured) at the July 12 P&Z meeting.
Restoring History
Dr. Christopher Illick, of Digestive Disease Associates, is proposing to move from the current location at 229 Montowese St. The new site would be 657-697 Main St., which is between Rogers and Kirkham streets.
Engineer Jim Pretti, of Criscuolo Engineering in Branford, said the property consists of the original two-story home and several one-story additions. It has recently been used as medical offices. He said the development team intends to restore the two-story home, remove the additions and create a “more coherent” one-story addition. The building will serve as medical offices and a two-room surgical suite for the team of doctors.
Diana Stricker Photo
“I think everybody’s familiar with this building,” said Architect Joseph Sepot (pictured) of Branford. “It’s been around for awhile.”
The original home was built in 1850 and had Italianate architectural features. It is listed in the town’s Historic Resource Survey.
Sepot said one option was to tear down all the structures, but they chose to restore the original building and build a new one-story addition that will compliment the original architecture. The Town Center Revitalization and Review Board (TCRRB) approved the designs and restoration plans.
Sepot displayed photos of the house circa 1910 that Town Historian Jane Bouley provided. They show the house when it had a porch, which the developers intend to rebuild.
With Permission
He said the plan for the addition “respects the original building but doesn’t overpower it.”
Assistant Town Planner Rich Stoecker said it’s an adaptive re-use of a historic building. “I think it’s a great plan. It’s really a benefit to the Town Center.”
The commissioners agreed and gave the project a unanimous approval.
The Long Saga of Sterling Ridge
With Permission
The public hearing for Sterling Ridge opened Thursday night but no testimony or comments were given. Chuck Andres, who chairs the P&Z, said the developer requested the hearing be continued until July 12 to allow the development team time to meet with neighbors.
The Sterling Ridge proposal has undergone several revisions, and lawsuits filed by neighbors and the Branford Historical Society since 2003. The site is across from the Canoe Brook Senior Center, and adjacent to the historic Harrison House on Main Street. The neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The developers are currently seeking changes to a PDD project that was approved about a year ago. Those plans called for construction of four 2-unit residential buildings on a 3.45 acre lot at 26 Cherry Hill Road. The lot also includes an existing house, known as the McCabe House, on the northern end of the property.
The developer is now requesting that the McCabe House property be split from the remainder of the site. The developer is also proposing changes to the exterior of the four duplex-buildings, such as adding porches or decks.
The Branford Historical Society sent a letter to the commission last month stating their opposition to the exterior changes to the buildings. Ann Trapasso, an adjacent neighbor, also wrote a letter objecting to the changes.
The initial Sterling Ridge proposal in 2001 called for construction of condominiums in four buildings, and the demolition of the 1820 Wyllys Russell House at 162 Main St., and the 1928 McCabe House.
Martha Bradshaw and Trapasso, both members of the Branford Historical Society, spearheaded a successful campaign in 2003 to save the Russell House.
A development plan for the property and the McCabe House was approved in 2005, but an appeal was filed by the Historical Society and by Trapasso. A court settlement agreement was reached and the P&Z approved the modified plans in 2007. The development never materialized, and the property changed owners a couple times before it was purchased by Alan Genn of Greenwich in 2014.
Clock Ticking for Exit 56 Development
Property owners at the Exit 56 PDD, including Charles E. Weber Jr., Al Secondino, and Wayne Cooke, are asking for a time extension to have site plans submitted and approved. The 44-acre site included Costco before it withdrew in 2017, and seven unnamed retail buildings.
New PDD regulations, approved earlier this year, say all site plans must be submitted and approved within three years after the PDD and Master Plans are approved. Two possible one-year extensions can be granted “upon a showing of good cause” if the P&Z commission approves, for a potential total of five years.
According to the new regs, time extensions do not require a public hearing, but Andres said residents may submit comments regarding the request.
Developers previously had two years, with no mention of time extensions.
That means the Exit 56 developers would have a maximum deadline of July 2020 for site plan approval. If all plans are not approved by that time, the Exit 56 PDD and master plan would become null and void.
The developers already had two years, and received a one-year extension last July, even though the regulations at that time did not address extensions.
The Exit 56 PDD and master plan were approved by P&Z by a 3-2 vote in July 2015. Plans were then submitted to the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) where lengthy hearings were held. The project would have eventually gone to P&Z for site-plan consideration if a Wetlands permit had been approved. Costco withdrew its IWC application in April 2016 after it became apparent that it would be denied. Costco later pulled out of the project.
Weber and Secondino own a 16.5-acre parcel at 569 E. Main St. where several retail buildings were proposed. The Costco store would have been built on an adjacent 22.3 acre site at 573 East Main St. owned by Wayne Cooke and the Cooke family corporations.
Weber and Secondino had an option to buy the Cooke property, an option that expired as of September 29, 2017, according to town land records for Orchard Hill Partners. The PDD also included smaller parcels, some of which were previously developed.
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