Ridge Road Development Plan Goes to TPZ Next Month
WETHERSFIELD - A proposal for a 70-unit apartment complex at a blighted Ridge Road property will go before the Town Planning and Zoning Commission in December.

       The proposed three-story development, projected to land the 291 Ridge Rd. property within the Grand List’s top 10 percent, has already faced close scrutiny from residents of both Ridge Road and Tollgate Road. Concerns are regarding added traffic to an already congested area, an increase in enrollment at nearby schools and the impact on property values.

       The affect on property values dominated the discussion at last Monday night’s public meeting, the second that representatives with Ridge Road Development have held. At between $1,500-$1,700 in monthly rent rates, the development would target higher income â€"young professionals” and near-retirement â€"empty nesters,” said Michael Goman of Goman and York Property Advisors, an East Hartford-based real estate consultant working with the development team.

       â€"That’s not low-income,” Goman said. â€"If that’s the concern, that’ll place [tenants] on the upper income scale.”

       Residents were less than assured. If the units fail to rent out and the rates consequently drop, the target demographics will as well, meeting attendees said.

       Tollgate and Ridge Road residents described the area as an â€"island” of owner-occupied homes surrounded by commercial real estate development--a potential detriment to property values. Nearby homeowners are being asked â€"to shoulder some of the risk” involved with the venture, residents said.

       But the units are expected to rent well in a town that has a 5.5 percent vacancy rate, which is low relative to the Greater Hartford area, Goman said.

       But four years ago, the town was told that it was â€"saturated” with apartment properties, said Board of Education Member Janet Vasel.

       â€"None of the data we’ve looked at indicates anything close to that,” Goman said.

       Gorman would not comment on the report she referenced because he hasn’t seen it. He asked to receive a copy of the information.

       Residents said that they are not opposed to development at the site, formerly condominiums, but that they would prefer owner-occupied or, at the very least, apartments at a lower density than what is being proposed.

       There are also concerns about added traffic, but developers expect the increase to the currently congested flow to be minimal.

       Their projections, based on â€"trip generation rate” formulas from the Institute of Transportation Engineers, have 36 trips at the peak morning hour and 44 at late afternoon rush hour, according to project Traffic Engineer Kevin Solli.

       The traffic study, conducted this past October, measured volumes during the 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. peak hour and the 5 to 6 p.m. evening rush, Solli said.

       â€"There may be more trips associated with this project over a larger time period,” he said. â€"Sometimes people leave earlier, sometimes they leave later.”

       If the project obtains Planning and Zoning approval, it is estimated to be worth close to $200,000 in annual property taxes, according to Mayor Paul Montinieri and Economic Development Director Peter Gillispie.

       But the Council’s approval of a 100 percent tax abatement for the first two years has raised controversy. Republican councilors, who voted against it, say that residents did not have adequate time to weigh-in on the issue, but Democrats described the abatement as a good faith measure to show the developer that the town is invested in a project that is far from approved. Residents will have opportunities to voice concerns while the applicants present their plan before any of the land use bodies they need to seek approval from, Mayor Paul Montinieri has said in related discussions held during Council meetings.

       Developers had initially asked for a seven-year tax abatement.
MORE WETHERSFIELD NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  Nov 24 2015  |  COMMENTS?