150-Unit Shore Road Housing Plan Pitched in Informal Old Lyme Zoning Discussion

OLD LYME, CT – A development partnership was in town Monday for an “informal” conversation to gauge the Zoning Commission’s appetite for a 150-unit housing development at the site of the Cherrystones Driving Range. 

The project area, tucked into 29.4 acres owned by Osprey Landing LLC, is bounded by a railroad to the north and wetlands to the east and west. Presented by representatives of the West Hartford-based Simon Konover Company and Norwalk-based Heritage Housing Inc., the proposal is still in early stages and has not yet been filed with the Zoning Commission.

Heritage Housing President David R. McCarthy said the developers also have an “informal” agreement to purchase the property.

Any plans to incorporate housing in the commercial zone would require changes to the town’s zoning regulations. Project attorney Amy Souchuns told the commission her clients would be interested in drafting an amendment that would allow them to build the kind of rental housing that does not exist in town currently.  

“We’re trying to look at this from the perspective of coming in cooperatively, early on in the process, to get your input and thoughts as to things that would be important if you were interested in this concept,” she said. 

McCarthy and Newton C. Brainard, vice president of acquisitions and development at Simon Konover, said after the meeting that the development would be a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units. 

Forty-five of the units would be set aside for renters making from 80 to 100% of the area median income, which is $126,600 for a family of four. This is generally considered part of the “workforce housing” demographic consisting of people who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing but still find themselves priced out of the local housing market. 

The proposal comes as the Connecticut General Assembly has increasingly enacted measures to spur workforce and affordable housing options across the state. 

The makeup and square footage of the units has not been “fully fleshed out,” according to Brainard. 

According to a news report in the Hartford Business Journal, Brainard previously held a senior position at Hamilton Point Investments in Old Lyme. He rejoined Simon Konover in 2012 after having worked for the company previously. 

He said the group – including Heritage Housing President David McCarthy and Souchuns – will be back next month to discuss the concept with the commission after the packed agenda left little time for discussion Monday. 

The roughly 20-minute introduction from Souchuns and project architect Miles Brown of Amenta Emma Architects laid out a preliminary concept for the development mimicking the style of the neighborhoods across the street in the Hawk’s Nest Beach area. 

Brown described a vision for “two story homes, front porches, walkable sidewalks, tree lined streets” in a multifamily development designed to resemble a traditional neighborhood. He said amenities would include a clubhouse, pool, playground areas and possibly a dog park. 

Souchuns said preliminary testing showed soils in the area are adequate for a community septic system and conversations with Connecticut Water indicate the utility is equipped to provide the development with water. She acknowledged questions remain. 

“Obviously if we were to move forward, we’d be having those conversations,” she said. 

For commission Secretary Jane Marsh, the abbreviated introduction provided enough time for her to determine a project of its scope does not fit in Old Lyme. 

“I don’t want this in town,” she said. 

She said building tightly packed shoreline lots would be a step backward. She noted that the neighborhoods constructed across the street, which the architect cited as the project’s design inspiration, largely went up before zoning regulations went into effect to control the number and size of lots. 

She didn’t buy the argument that meeting an unmet need is enough justification to change zoning. 

“I’ve never felt that Old Lyme has to serve every market,” she said. “It’s got its own sort of way of being.” 

But member Michael Fogliano, former chairman of the Affordable Housing Commission and current Zoning Commission representative to the town’s Housing Strategic Planning Committee, said the project represents “a niche worth talking about.” 

He referenced a comprehensive state law enacted last year that attempts to address a long-standing housing shortage. 

The law, among other things, calls on the state Office of Policy and Management to evaluate how many units must be built to address the shortage, and leaves it up to nine councils of government across Connecticut to create regional growth plans that spread out the need across the cities and towns in their jurisdictions.

Plans must take stock of developable land, outline ways to broaden housing options and evaluate whether infrastructure, such as wastewater systems, can support growth. The state law also requires a clear timeline for putting those strategies into action.

Fogliano, describing the town’s infrastructure issues as daunting, said the proposal is nevertheless “directionally correct” in terms of where the state is telling municipalities to go. 

After the meeting, McCarthy said setting aside 30% of the units at lower rents is aimed at meeting local housing needs rather than qualifying for state incentives designed to encourage affordable and workforce housing.

McCarthy founded Heritage Housing in 2017, according to his website biography. He specializes in affordable housing financing, with more than 18 years of experience in Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan and West Virginia.  

“The idea behind the inclusion of affordable housing is really to address a need within the town,” he said. “We find in working in other communities that units of housing at these affordability levels actually serve the town residents.”

He cited a recent development he consulted on in New Canaan with 104 units, 21 of which were set aside for renters making 80% of the area median income. He said two-thirds of those units went to residents from New Canaan or surrounding towns. 

“It was a selective town the way Old Lyme is, where there were higher barriers to entry,” he said.