{"id":1047075,"date":"2026-09-06T14:53:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T14:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1047075\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T14:53:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T14:53:45","slug":"developer-plans-160-ct-apartments-this-winter-nearly-630-to-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1047075\/","title":{"rendered":"Developer plans 160 CT apartments this winter, nearly 630 to follow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Five years after debuting a deeply unconventional strategy to put up affordable apartment buildings across Connecticut, New York-based Vessel Technologies<\/a> is looking to have tenants move into its Avon and Rocky Hill locations this winter and possibly open its long-delayed Cheshire project.<\/a><\/p>\n

The company has spent heavily to bring its controversial vision of small but tech-intensive, sleek steel buildings to about a dozen communities, with a wide range of results.<\/p>\n

Bitterly contested lawsuits<\/a> and community outrage have arisen in Glastonbury<\/a>, West Hartford and Trumbull, but in New London and Avon there were relatively quick approvals, applause from housing advocates \u2014 and a stunningly long line of prospective tenants.<\/p>\n

To detractors, Vessel is an out-of-state predator, wielding Connecticut\u2019s 8-30g law to force its way into communities where its high-density, all-steel, pre-fabricated buildings aren\u2019t welcome.<\/p>\n

Supporters contend that change-resistant property owners in the Land of Steady Habits are simply trying to ignore the statewide shortage of new housing that isn\u2019t McMansions or high-amenity, high-rent luxury apartments.<\/p>\n

\"ConstructionConstruction continues at Vessel at 25 Avonwood Road in Avon on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Aaron Flaum\/Hartford Courant)<\/p>\n

In some cases, they say, homeowners who dislike the prospect of affordable housing nearby trump up concerns about wetlands or wildlife habitats to keep Vessel out.<\/p>\n

Vessel executives avoid the phrase \u201caffordable housing\u201d and prefer \u201cachievable\u201d or \u201cattainable,\u201d and emphasize that they\u2019re not putting up subsidized housing for low-income or no-income tenants. Instead, they argue, Vessel apartments are aimed for entry-level teachers, police, nurses, restaurant managers, public works employees and others who are priced out of the high-end new-construction market.<\/p>\n

Either way, 2027 shapes up as a pivotal year for the company.<\/p>\n

The company needs to prove that its promise of super-accelerated, low-cost modular construction can produce fully leased buildings on schedule, especially as it branches into Florida and potentially more East Coast markets.<\/p>\n

It has spent millions securing purchase options on land, going through protracted regulatory reviews, repeatedly modifying designs and blueprints, pursuing litigation and in several cases erecting multi-story buildings \u2014 but so far only its 30-unit New London location is occupied and producing rents.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe property for Vessel is fenced off at 446 Hopmeadow St. in Simsbury on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (Aaron Flaum\/Hartford Courant)<\/p>\n

To Neil Rubler, Vessel\u2019s chief executive officer, all of the controversy, court cases and delays in Connecticut aren\u2019t reasons for pessimism. He sees the freshly built Avon project as a highlight of the year: It was assembled in five months, a month quicker than even the company\u2019s most optimistic projections.<\/p>\n

And if the state next year can settle on a centralized plan review process, the extensive delays of local permitting could be sharply reduced, he said.<\/p>\n

Vessel\u2019s nearly identical buildings should be held to a review by state Department of Administrative Services building and fire code officials, he suggested, with local reviews chiefly restricted to ensuring that the company uses the materials and follows the construction techniques that those officials approve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe delays have been significant and costly. The medicine didn\u2019t taste great, but at the end of the day we\u2019ll have a road map that will let us go into future communities and be able to build,\u201d Rubler told The Courant. \u201cThe design of our buildings is highly unconventional because you\u2019re not going to revolutionize the housing industry by doing what you\u2019ve always been doing.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Vessel building in New London this summer. (Don Stacom\/The Hartford Courant)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spent years and millions of dollars with life safety officials designing for enhanced safety. But to local officials, they\u2019ve never seen anything like this,\u201d Rubler said. \u201cWe can dial in the production process very specifically, but the cooperation and collaboration of municipal partners can be variable like the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local safety officials in several towns have urged caution, saying that complex technical questions about assembly techniques and fire safety must be fully answered. Vessel\u2019s plans drew a sharp rebuke from state inspectors<\/a> earlier this year, although those concerns have receded.<\/p>\n

State lawmakers wrestled during the past session with a proposal to expedite review of modular multifamily housing like Vessel\u2019s, which allows a small work crew to assemble premanufactured steel panels for floors, walls and ceilings. Skeptics warn that fast-tracking unconventional technology through safety reviews is an unwise risk.<\/p>\n

\"AA stairwell at the Vessel building in New London. (Don Stacom\/The Hartford Courant)<\/p>\n

Vessel focuses chiefly on small one-bedroom units, and its buildings are meant for assembly more similar to a Lego style than individually designed, stick-built construction.<\/p>\n

In theory, that reduces costs dramatically by eliminating the need for a large crew of carpenters and laborers working for a year or more. But those savings erode in a case like Cheshire, where workers completed a five-story, 70-unit building more than a year ago \u2014 but local building review has held up certificates of occupancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cCheshire is a wild card,\u201d Rubler acknowledged. \u201cI\u2019ve been wrong a lot about how long it would take. We\u2019re working every day to get the permits reactivated, but the process has been much more laborious than in other places. I think we\u2019re very close to moving it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of Vessel\u2019s 12 other Connecticut proposals since 2021, the Manchester, Granby and New Haven ones are dead. The five-story building on New London\u2019s waterfront has been open about a year, and appears to be fully rented. Apartments.com has no immediate listings<\/a>, and suggests a single one-bedroom unit will be \u201cavailable soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vessel\u2019s two biggest initiatives are stalled in court. In West Hartford, the company hopes to build two five-story buildings with a total of 120 apartments. The town has rejected the company twice, and a lawsuit is pending.<\/p>\n

Trumbull, too, is defending a lawsuit by the company after rejecting plans for two five-story buildings with 150 units. Glastonbury approved a 48-apartment project in June after extensive litigation, but has suggested that further legal action could take place before construction begins.<\/p>\n

In Simsbury, Vessel has had building materials on site since the winter for a 48-unit project.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Levy of Vessel Technologies at the site of the Cheshire apartment building under construction in the late winter of 2024. Two and a half years later, it is essentially complete but vacant. (Don Stacom\/The Hartford Courant)<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, the foundation and underground plumbing permits have been issued. Others permit applications are in the review process,\u201d Building Official Danny Sousa said. \u201cThe building permit is under review for compliance with state building code. Once completed it will be issued. They original filing was Dec. 4, 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, without the building permit being issued, no building construction can start,\u201d Sousa said. \u201cWe have been working closely with Vessel\u2019s design team to address concerns from our latest building code review. And currently are awaiting resubmittals so that a re-review could be completed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Fairfield County towns initially refused proposals, but reached settlements: Newtown will allow 120 apartments and Bethel 72. As of now, Vessel hasn\u2019t applied for construction permits.<\/p>\n

Rocky Hill officials didn\u2019t respond to emails about the status of Vessel\u2019s twin five-story buildings, which have a total of 96 apartments. The buildings have appeared complete for many months.<\/p>\n

Rubler said permitting is complete there, and he hopes to have tenants moving into the Rocky Hill and Avon buildings before the end of January. He suggested the Simsbury building could be completed within a half-year of permitting.<\/p>\n

In all, the company has 788 new apartments in the pipeline, expecting to open at least 160 of them this winter. But its long-term goals are vastly more ambitious \u2014 and national in scale.<\/p>\n

Vessel last week announced it\u2019s working with Blake Investment Partners to put up a five-story, 60-unit apartment building in St. Petersburg, its first venture into the state. Rubler said the company could be proposing four or five more in Florida next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re actively looking at locations up and down the East Coast and now in the Midwest,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody realizes zoning and redlining went too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re not folding up our tents in Connecticut,\u201d Rubler added, saying Vessel is looking at additional towns for 2027. \u201cConnecticut has a profound housing crisis, and the governor is very aware of it. In Cheshire we\u2019ll have 70 units: We already have 400 people on a waiting list. That\u2019s an indication of the dire need for housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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