ARB Reviews Danbury Rd. Townhouse Rental Project with Affordable Units

Members of the Architectural Review Board (ARB) offered favorable comments about the design of a proposed townhouse development at 255 Danbury Rd. that would include two affordable units.

During the ARB’s Thursday, May 7 meeting, TBS Partners LLC reviewed its pre-application proposal to construct 12 townhouses on the roughly one-acre site, which incorporates three parcels (previously 251, 257 and 259 Danbury Rd.). The units at either end of the development would have three bedrooms and two-car garages, while the remaining 10 units would each have two bedrooms and one-car garages, with a small on-grade parking lot behind the units.

Two of the units would be designated for median-income families per the requirements of the Danbury Road West Overlay District, which the developers plan to seek approval for inclusion via a zone change.

“I think you did a wonderful job, a masterful job of working everything three-dimensionally into such a tight site,” said ARB Chair Kevin Quinlan. “I think that the moves you made were seemingly all right.”

The proposed development is located across Danbury Rd. from the former Wilton Baptist Church, the site of a proposed high-end residential development that recently received approval from Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) along with an exemption from affordability requirements of the neighboring Danbury Road East Overlay District.

Commissioners Discuss Noise Abatement, Color Options

The designers are proposing a unique approach to mitigate the effects of noise and traffic along the busy Rte. 7/Danbury Rd. corridor. As architect Salvatore Talamo explained, the sides of the townhouses facing the street are actually the rear of the structures, even though they are styled to resemble typical street-facing facades with small patios and sidewalk-level courtyards. The front entrances — which include the bottom-floor garages — face the parking area away from the road. Access to the development would be via a new entrance on Old Ridgefield Rd.

“The idea is to have the rear of the building greet the street as if it was the front … as a nice, welcoming property,” Talamo explained.

Talamo noted that the patios and courtyards would be shielded from the street by trees and tall bushes, but acknowledged that noise was an ever-present issue for properties along that stretch of Danbury Rd.

The townhouses will be stepped to follow the gradual slope of the landscape. Attorney Liz Suchy, representing the applicants, also noted that the height of the proposed townhomes is lower than what is allowed in the overlay district in order to be “consistent with a New England flavor.”

Can a Barrier Wall Improve Safety and Reduce Noise?

Following Talamo’s presentation, Commissioner Kathy Poirier raised the question of safety given the proximity of the rear patios and courtyards to the road. Talamo explained that the buildings were set back 49 feet from the road, and the design will feature a low retaining wall that would create a buffer between the yards from the public sidewalk and street.

Poirier and Commissioner Jan Hilgeman inquired whether the architects had considered other design options for reducing noise, such as creating two rows of six townhouses or putting the patios and courtyards on the side not facing Danbury Rd. Talamo explained that doing so would require creating a curb cut off of Danbury Rd., which would require state approval and which might be less safe than entering from Old Ridgefield Rd.

“I guess there’s nothing you can do about the size of the street and the Indy 500 that it’s become,” Quinlan said.

To further cut down on noise and improve privacy and safety, Commissioner Lynley Middleberg suggested widening the retaining wall to incorporate planters, and the commissioners also discussed the possibility of increasing the height of the wall. Talamo said that while a taller wall would not present any technical issues, he was concerned that such a wall could weather over time and serve to isolate the townhouses from the rest of the street; a lower barrier would, he argued, make the townhouses “more pleasant and more inviting, like most of the other smaller residences along Danbury Rd.”

The commissioners also discussed renderings of various color options proposed by the applicant, ranging from plain white facades and black roofs to bold colors for the clapboard siding and alternating charcoal and weathered roof shingles. The commissioners ultimately favored the option incorporating a range of neutral colors and alternating roof materials.

“I think when … it looks like you have several different facades, even though it’s one development, it looks intentional, but it also gives kind of a distinct feel,” said Middleberg. “I think something more along the lines of [the neutral colors] will give it a little bit more cohesiveness.”

TBS Partners will review the commissioners’ suggestions and incorporate them into the project design, and then submit a formal application to the ARB at a future date.

Proposal for Mixed-Use Redevelopment Moves Forward

During the May 7 meeting, the ARB also reviewed plans for a proposed mixed-use redevelopment of a retail building at 33 Danbury Rd., which incorporated changes suggested by Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) during a pre-application hearing last October.

CHEL Associates LLC, which acquired the property last May, is proposing to renovate the five retail spaces on the ground floor to attract higher-end retailers — potentially including a restaurant — and to convert the second floor from office space into six apartments. The proposal also seeks to increase the size of the existing parking lot to accommodate residents and retail employees, a suggestion made by P&Z during the pre-application review.

Architect Phillip Cerrone III said the existing storefronts will be reconstructed with new frames and windows, and a canopy. The canopy was originally conceived as a single unit stretching across all five storefronts, but at the suggestion of the commissioners Cerrone agreed to consider individual canopies supported by pilasters. The front will be finished in painted brick, while the sides and rear will be EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems).

Questions from the commissioners focused on the placement of bollards in front of the building to protect the storefronts from cars, the style of the trim, and the size and placement of signage above the storefronts and along the road. Cerrone also noted that the utilities on the roof will not be visible from the ground.

According to Cerrone, the lighting on the building and in the parking lot will be night-sky compliant LEDs.

Attorney Gloria Gouveia, representing CHEL Associates, explained that the project will be pursued in three phases. First will be the retail spaces, and then the applicant will apply for special permits for the construction of the six apartments, which will include fire-suppression sprinklers.

“The apartments that are being proposed the upper level are the subject of a great deal of legislation coming out of the state right now,” Gouveia said. “The state is encouraging that kind of mixed use when it comes to existing and future centers. And there’s even talk of relieving some of the zoning regulations to accommodate that additional use. Everyone knows it’s very important because we need more housing, and we need more diversified housing.”

Gouveia explained that although Wilton’s zoning regulations don’t address the use of seasonal plants to meet landscaping requirements, the designers are discussing the use of planters along the sidewalk and hanging plants along the storefronts to “green up the space.”

The building is located within the 100-foot floodplain of the Norwalk River, which will be addressed in future public reviews. Also still to be addressed is whether any of the rental units can be priced for median-income occupants.

The commissioners voted unanimously to approve the presentation as submitted, with the understanding that the design will be revised to incorporate as many of the suggestions offered by the commissioners as possible.

Throughout the presentation, the commissioners were very complimentary of the design.

“You’re doing the best you can with the space available and it’s impressive,” Quinlan said. “I think it’s great.”