The developer that has built or is building 55-and-over housing complexes in Middlebury, Farmington, Watertown and Plainville is looking to add another in Berlin next to the Orchard Ridge senior apartments.
Newport Realty Group contends that building 18 age-restricted homes clustered around two new streets would be better than a standard subdivision, both for the town as well as the residents.
Age-restricted homes would generate far less traffic than a typical subdivision, the company said, as well as precluding the risk of costly increases in Berlin’s school enrollment.
Southington-based Newport Realty over the past few years has become one of dominant names in mid-sized projects of 55-and-over housing in central Connecticut, getting into that niche market while many of its competitors were still focused on the wave of demand for large-scale four-and-five story apartment complexes.
A rendering of Newport Realty Group’s proposed homes in Berlin. (Courtesy of Town of Berlin)
Newport Realty’s plans in Berlin is for a series of 18 detached homes each with multiple bedrooms, a garage and lawn. A homeowners association would govern maintenance.
By seeking to rezone the nearly 10-acre parcel along Deming Road and just south of Orchard Ridge, Newport Realty’s plan would essentially guarantee no additional schoolchildren. The land is zoned as Office Technology, but the change would make it Planned Residential. Under that category, Newport Realty wants to list the property as “adult housing” — and the zoning rule for that specifically prohibits anyone under 18 from living there.
Newport Realty will explain its Ashford Ridge Estates proposal to the planning and zoning commission on Thursday night, and is likely to make a case for why a clustered, age-restricted project is preferable to a general subdivision.
The company contends that its plan would create a lot less new traffic than a typical subdivision, and would be better environmentally. Ashford Ridge Estates would add 72 to 99 vehicle trips a day, according to consultant Kratzert, Jones & Associates of Southington.
“By comparison, a standard single-family development is estimated to generate nine to 10 trips per unit daily, or 162 to 180 trips per day,” the company told commissioners in a memo. “Cobey Road provides adequate capacity and access to the estimated site-generated traffic.
“The location next to a present adult housing community is ideal. “The proposed units have attractive architectural features and include a two-car garage, master bedroom suite and sunroom.”
The homes would be served by two private roads, would use public water and sewer service, and would have private contractors for trash and recycling pickup.
Berlin has a need for senior housing, and Newport Realty believes it has tapped into a segment of the market that is eager to own a detached, single-family home designed for older residents. Mowing and plowing are done through the HOA, and everything is on a single floor to avoid the need for stairs.
Newport Realty has a growing inventory of 55-and-over projects. It is building the 18-unit Berkshire Estates in Watertown, and is currently completing the second phase of its 32-unit Aberdeen Estates in Middlebury. It built another that straddles the Plainville and Farmington town line, and also has an additional complex in Watertown.