Key Points
- Kimco is seeking approval for several design modifications to its previously approved River Road mixed-use development.
- P&Z must determine whether the proposed changes qualify as minor amendments that can be approved without a public hearing.
- The discussion comes as a separate Phase II proposal for an additional 175 apartments has been withdrawn.
Why It Matters: The decision will determine whether the public gets another opportunity to weigh in on changes to one of Wilton’s most closely watched development projects while highlighting broader debates over housing and redevelopment in Wilton Center.
Just over a year-and-a-half since Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) narrowly approved an application by Kimco Realty to redevelop 15-21 River Rd. as a two-building mixed-use project anchoring Wilton Center, the developer is returning to seek approval for changes to the design that it hopes can be approved without a public hearing.
“As design drawings for the Phase I Development have progressed to construction drawings, certain opportunities for operational efficiencies have become apparent which necessitate minor adjustments to the approved drawings,” attorney Lisa Feinberg wrote in her cover letter for the application.
The modifications include five-foot extensions to the footprints of both Building A, on the east side of the property closest to River Rd., and Building B, on the west side, along with the addition of a new trash dock, changes and extension to the garage, and the addition of an external staircase to Building A.
Citing Wilton’s zoning regulations for minor amendments to existing special permits, Kimco is seeking approval of these modifications without the need to hold a public hearing.
P&Z will consider whether the proposed changes are significant enough to warrant a public hearing during its Monday, Jun. 8 meeting.
The “Phase I” development approved by P&Z in November 2024 capped three years of often contentious review, revision and debate over a range of issues including the provision of public amenities, the addition of a fifth floor on one or both buildings, and the inclusion of median-income housing — which Kimco decreased from 16 units in the initial application to just three in the final proposal approved by P&Z, thanks to a loophole in the zoning regulations.
Second Proposal for 175-Apartment Expansion Postponed Twice, Then Withdrawn
In mid-May, Kimco — doing business as Wilton Campus 1691, LLC — also submitted a new application to P&Z for a pre-application review for a plan demolish the site’s remaining office building and construct a new four-story residential building with an additional 175 apartments in its place. The application letter specified that the “Phase II” development was necessary because the current tenants of the office building have announced they are leaving, and the building is expected to be empty by year’s end.
The developer blamed the rise of “remote and hybrid work models” for driving down the demand for physical office space, while noting that the demand for housing in the town has continued to grow.
The applicant requested to postpone the discussion twice. Originally scheduled for the May 26 meeting, that discussion was shelved because of the unavailability of the project’s new architect. It had been rescheduled for the upcoming Jun. 8 meeting, but that, too, was deferred. In an email to GOOD Morning Wilton, Feinberg said that Kimco “decided to withdraw the pre-application because they are working on some modifications” and that “[t]hey do not expect to proceed with that proposal at this time.”
Wilton Campus Project Evolved Over Three Years
Kimco’s original plans for the site, submitted to P&Z in Fall 2021, called for 158 apartments located in two four-story buildings that shared space with 2,300 square feet of ground-floor retail facilities. The original proposal reserved 16 units for median-income families. A protracted pre-application review process followed, during which Kimco revised the design seven times to address P&Z’s concerns about a range of issues such as the provision of adequate public common areas and access to the space by nonprofit organizations for events.
The application review process paralleled P&Z’s efforts to draft and pass the Greater Wilton Center Master Plan zoning overlay, which caps mixed-use construction at four stories but also allows developers to add a fifth story in exchange for offering “exceptional public benefits.”
However, the P&Z subcommittee that drafted the master plan inadvertently neglected to include an affordable housing requirement in its zoning regulations — an omission that did not escape the developer’s notice. The subcommittee had intended to require a minimum of 10% median-income housing in any new residential development, and encourage 12% for projects with a fifth story. But without that requirement, Kimco was not obliged to provide any median-income units at all.
When P&Z appeared likely to reject a proposed fifth story for Building B (after having rejected one for Building A), Kimco countered by offering to add three median-income units to the complex. The developer argued that this, along with a promise to secure LEED Silver certification and allowing local nonprofits to host gatherings on the new Village Drive side street, qualified as “exceptional public benefits” that would warrant allowing the design to retain the fifth story on Building B.
Project Returns Amid Ongoing Affordable Housing Debate
The return of the Kimco project to P&Z’s radar comes at a time when the current commissioners are trying to ensure Wilton is compliant with the state’s 8-30g affordable housing statute.
Under 8-30g, if less than 10% of Wilton’s total housing stock has been set aside for median-income renters and buyers, developers are entitled to sidestep local zoning regulations provided they designate at least 30% of a project’s units for median-income occupancy. To avoid that, the town has two options: it can either increase the total number of affordable units to reach the 10% threshold, or it can earn a four-year moratorium on developers seeking to sidestep the regulations by increasing the number of median-income units by at least 2%, which, in Wilton’s case, is 132 units.
In April, the commissioners agreed unanimously to adopt the state median income as a basis for calculating the number of units in at least some developments that will be priced below market rates — in part because residential developments that use the state median income count toward the moratorium.
P&Z is also in the process of hammering out a blanket affordable housing percentage for all residential zones — presumably including the Wilton Center district — and is seeking to work with the Board of Selectmen (BOS) to develop an independent housing authority that would oversee the construction of median-income housing withstand 8-30g appeals by developers and preserve the town’s control over its zoning regulations.
