New Kimco Proposal, New Apartments for Danbury Rd., and More at P&Z

The Planning & Zoning Commission considered a flurry of new applications and regulatory changes on Monday, Feb. 12. Two agenda items in particular — the latest apartment complex proposed for Danbury Rd. and the next iteration of Kimco’s Wilton Center redevelopment plan — took up the bulk of the meeting.

However, the Commission also teed up public hearings on new regulatory changes that have been brewing for months and opened a discussion that may change the fate of 300 Danbury Rd. These topics will be covered in an article later this week.

A “Thorough … Exemplary” Presentation on 131 Danbury Rd.

After a presentation that lasted just under two hours, the team behind the proposal for a 4.5-story 208-unit apartment building at 131 Danbury Rd. received early praise from the Commission. The site sits between Ring’s End and the 173-unit complex currently under construction at 141 Danbury Rd. and runs alongside the Norwalk River.

The main architectural feature is a wood-framed, public-facing amenity structure dubbed “the jewel box” by the applicant. This two-story structure sits in front of the 4.5-story buildings behind it helping to soften the visual impact of the development. The Commission responded positively to this design element during a pre-application hearing in September and this evening was no different.

“The jewel box says ‘Wilton’ in its scale and it buffers the larger building behind it. The simplicity of it is very attractive to me,” Commissioner Chris Pagliaro said. He also called the application an example of how new development can improve the environmental condition of a site. The proposed plan includes the removal of invasive species from the banks of the Norwalk River and the creation of a protective riparian border for the waterway.

Landscape Architect Jason Williams of SLR presented an alternative route for the site’s public sidewalk, which would bring pedestrians onto a slightly meandering path through a small meadow in front of the jewel box structure. The route was one of few points of disagreement on the Commission, with Commissioner Jill Warren in particular expressing a preference for a traditional, straight sidewalk. Pagliaro and other Commissioners preferred the meandering path, and Craig Flaherty of Redness & Mead noted that it had been the suggestion of the Architectural Review Board, which reviewed the project last fall.

The presentation also dove into an analysis of traffic impacts on the site and the number of school-age children that the development would add to Wilton’s student body. Flaherty outlined a study that suggests that the complex will bring just 21 school-age children to Wilton and pointed out that the complex will generate additional tax dollars to support the schools and other town expenses.

The applicant team is expected back for the Monday, Mar. 11 meeting of P&Z, by which point they hope to have approvals in place with Wilton’s Water Pollution Control Authority, Inland Wetlands Commission, and Fire Marshal.

A Kimco Redevelopment Plan that “Has Come a Long Way”  

Wilton Center’s largest property owner returned to P&Z for a fifth pre-application hearing on its plans to redevelop the southern portion of its property along River Rd. Chair Rick Tomasetti noted that this is the first application (even in preliminary form) to be considered that uses the new form-based zoning code passed as part of the master plan process that concluded in November. In particular, the new design sets back the top floor so that from the pedestrian or ground level, the building looks and feels like a smaller, three-story structure.

Presenting for Kimco, Brian O’Connor of Cube3 Architects introduced the latest iteration by calling it, “a much more thoughtful and integrated proposal.” The Commissioners seemed to agree — comments on the new design were overwhelmingly positive, a marked change from prior presentations.

“Bravo, because as an applicant and a part of this community, you have really come a long way with this. You’ve been patient and you’ve listened,” Pagliaro said.

“We’ve seen about 12 of these [proposals] and with this one, I think we’re getting somewhere,” Vice Chair Melissa-Jean Rotini said.

“By and large, I think this can be a successful project,” Tomasetti said. He noted that he would leave discussion of the building materials, including decisions about the brick for the façade, for ARB to discuss.

The commissioners did find room for improvement, however.

Commissioner Mark Ahasic pointed to the movie theater as a loss for public amenities in the new plan. Nicholas Brown, Vice President of Development for Kimco revisited some of the prior discussion of the market challenges facing the movie theater that took place before Ahasic joined the Commission.  

Rotini reiterated interest in some kind of public rooftop space, such as a jazz club. She also challenged the team to consider street-level improvements for the back of 5 River Rd., which is not part of this redevelopment plan but will face the new building at 21 River Rd.

Commissioners Chris Wilson and Ken Hoffman both expressed concern that the layout of the site makes moving between buildings difficult.

There was also a discussion over the public use of a small half-circle area at the corner of the site facing north. Kimco offered renderings of the space as both a plaza and a grass lawn, with several commissioners split over which vision they preferred. Tomasetti pointed out that the space is exposed to traffic along River Rd. and might not be as populated or desirable as imagined.