This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
02/06/2023 09:54 AMPlans for an affordable housing project at 47 Middlesex Turnpike are a bit less mysterious following a well-attended public information session hosted by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Selectmen (BOS) on Jan. 31.
Representatives from Honeycomb Real Estate Partners, LLC, and Vesta Corporation presented their proposal for developing the 3.03 acres of land formerly owned by St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Essex and located opposite St. John’s Catholic Church. The church announced the property’s sale on Dec. 27, 2022.
Dubbed “Artisan Village,” Stephen Caprio, director of development for Honeycomb, said that the project calls for 14 Colonial-style buildings, housing 40 apartments in total, in a single-family district.
“We really want to be delivering the town something to be proud of, something that looks like it belongs here, something that looks like it’s been here for a while,” said Caprio.
The apartments are intended for tenants with incomes at or below 80 percent of Chester’s Area Median Income (AMI). The town’s AMI is around $88,000.
Under their long-term management, the development would help the town fulfill the requirements of Connecticut State Statutes Section 8-30g, which mandates 10 percent of a municipality’s housing stock be deemed “affordable.” According to Zoning Enforcement Officer (ZEO) John Guszkowski, only 2.2 percent of Chester’s housing stock is currently listed as “affordable.”
“We think it’s going to service a lot of people that really need this type of housing,” said Caprio.
Apartments would be categorized into different income levels. For example, according to Caprio, 29 of the 40 units would be for two tenants whose separate incomes sit at 60 percent AMI, an income level of $52,560. The cheapest eight apartments would be for tenants at 50 percent AMI, or $43,750.
74 residents attended the Jan. 31 information session, but the project received a mixed reception. Some attendees expressed concerns over the project’s potential for noise pollution in neighboring areas, a devaluing of residential properties, increased traffic congestion near the development and on Main Street, and a shift in lifestyle with increased density.
“You’re interfering with the lifestyle of Pratt Street…of the [homes] on Main Street, and it’s not fair,” said resident Madelyn Meyer. “And I think the zoning enforcement officer is doing a disfavor to this town if this is accepted.”
Other concerns included public health and safety procedures related to water, fire, and overcrowdedness of tenants at the development. They were addressed by Guszkowski.
“As long as buildings are built to fire code and are built by professional engineers and architects, there’s basically no concern about overcrowded tenements catching fire,” he said. “The buildings are only going to be two stories, so hopefully, there would be no concern with the Fire Department’s ability to manage fire control there.”
The development’s adjacency to Middlesex Turnpike makes it accessible to public water and sewer lines. Guszkowski said there is no concern about an inability to safely handle generated waste water.
The ZEO also said a study on safely addressing a possible increase in traffic congestion would be conducted by developers and the Department of Transportation since the property lies next to a state road. Other safety studies involving the Chester Fire Department will be conducted as well.
Vocal support for the development was also expressed, with some attendees agreeing on the necessity of affordable housing but asking the developers to respect the town’s aesthetics.
“I would like to stress the fact that it maintains respectful towards the historical architecture, and in that materials because I know that with affordable housing, people in these affordable housing homes can get kind of the short straw on materials,” said Emily Roise.
Honeycomb founding principal and managing member Lewis Brown agreed with Roise, noting that durable materials are in the best interest of all involved.
“It’s in the interest, selfishly, of the owners, as well, to build a durable product, for lack of a better word,” Brown said. “Not just for the resident, but for the long-term physical viability and financial viability of the property.”
First Selectwoman Charlene Janecek said that the information session provided transparency on the proposal for the attending public, all of whose concerns and questions, positive or negative, were responded to honestly by the developers.
“For the most part, people were respectful; they asked thoughtful questions,” she said. “All in all, I thought it went really well. Everybody who was in that room, their questions, I think, were answered honestly and correctly.”
Guszkowski said that a plan by Honeycomb and Vesta that satisfies all the Town’s welfare and public health and safety concerns is likely to gain approval by PZC.
According to Janecek, a decision on the proposal should arrive sometime in late spring or early summer, by which the Commission will hold a second information session.
Brown said that if the development gains approval from both the state and the town, groundbreaking could take place, at the earliest, by the end of the year. Construction is expected to take 12 to 15 months.