The Connecticut housing project is already drawing support.
The developer that included supported-living units in the new mixed-income Trailside apartment complex in Farmington is looking to build a similar project on the site of the shuttered Touchpoints nursing home.
Metro Realty’s plan to build 62 apartments — with the vast majority to be leased at affordable rates — is set to go before a hearing by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission on Monday evening.
So far, the proposal has gotten extensive support from parents of developmentally disabled adults who either reside in supported-living apartments now or want to move to the new complex.
Richard Sambrook, whose adult daughter lives at the Bear Woods supportive housing facility in Canton, wrote to town planners last week to endorse Metro Realty’s proposal.
“Since moving into supportive housing, Jaimie has developed in managing daily routines (cooking for herself, ordering groceries, taking care of her cat “Cookie”) and developing meaningful friendships with all living there in and having pride of having her own home,” he wrote.
The largest of five buildings proposed for Metro Realty’s 62-unit apartment complex in Farmington. (Courtesy of Town of Farmington)
Metro Realty’s new proposal would put up 62 apartments on a roughly 5.5-acre site a little less than a mile from the Plainville line. The property at 20 Scott Swamp Road was a nursing home until 2023, and has been empty since.
The new complex would include five buildings with a total of 25 one-bedroom apartments, 35 two-bedroom models and two three-bedroom units.
The one-bedroom apartments would range from 800 to 930 square feet, two bedroom units would be from 1,070 to 1,280 square feet, and the three-bedroom models would be 1,500 square feet.
“Residents will have access to a variety of amenities, including in-unit washers and dryers. The buildings have been sustainably designed to provide efficient electric mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems and high indoor air quality through the use of a radon mitigation system” with materials with low volatile organic compounds, according to a letter from Andrea Gomes, the attorney with Hartford-based Hinckley Allen who is representing Metro Realty.
There would be 90 parking spaces and new sidewalks along the section of Scott Swamp Road in front of the complex, she wrote.
The proposal is for 80% of the apartments to be leased at state-determined affordable rates for at least the next 40 years. That makes the project eligible for 8-30g protections, since Farmington has only about 8% of its housing qualified as affordable — well below the state target of 10%.
Designs for two of the smaller buildings in Metro Realty’s 62-unit apartment complex proposal in Farmington. In all, the project would have five buildings. (Courtesy of Town of Farmington)
Favarh, the Arc of the Farmington Valley, collaborated with Metro Realty last year on developing Trailside at 1600 New Britain Ave., a little more than a mile away in Farmington. Its 90 units include 32 one-bedroom models and 58 two-bedrooms. In all, 20 apartments will be designated for tenants with intellectual or developmental disabilities, and Favarh will provide on-site staff to provide support.
Favarh is connected with a similar housing model at Bear Woods, and Gary and Debra Schroen cited its benefit to their adult son, John, in a letter to local zoners this month about Metro Realty’s new proposal.
“Since moving into his own Favarh-supported apartment at Bear Woods, John has gained remarkable independence: he manages his daily routines, cooks simple meals, does his own laundry, maintains steady employment, and has built warm friendships with neighbors, coworkers, and peers — both with and without disabilities,” they wrote.
“The Scott Swamp Road project would bring this same life-changing opportunity to other families in Farmington—allowing more adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live independently, contribute to the community, and thrive in homes of their own,” the Schroens wrote.
