Apartments eyed for former Somers mill site
May 15—SOMERS — Town officials have signed an exclusive agreement with a development company to build a mixed-income apartment community at the former site of the Somersville Mill.
WinnDevelopment of Boston is proposing to rent or buy a portion of the lot on the north side of 40 Maple St. and build 80 to 100 apartment units across four floors. The apartments will be a mix of market-value units, affordable units at 80% of the adjusted median income of Hartford County, and workforce units at 30% of the adjusted median income of Hartford County.
The developer plans an environmentally friendly building and is expected to apply to the Connecticut Housing Finance Agency for tax credits.
The exclusive agreement, signed by the Board of Selectmen on May 3, is contingent upon approval by the Planning Commission, Zoning Commission, and a town meeting.
"The thoughtful redevelopment of the mill property has been a goal of the community for a decade to create an economic anchor for the village of Somersville and contribute to the town's housing needs," First Selectman Timothy R.E. Keeney said.
He said the Somersville Mill Strategic Planning Ad Hoc Committee had decided that the best use for the site would be housing and economic stimulus for the neighborhood.
The Somersville Manufacturing Co. built the historic mill in 1879. The mill employed hundreds of people for decades and produced woolen fabrics used by high-end clothiers.
After a fire in June 2012 gutted the building, its remnants were razed in 2017.
The parcel forms the center of the Somersville Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
WinnDevelopment is the development arm of the private family-owned WinnCompanies, which has owned, developed, and managed apartment communities in Connecticut for 42 years. The company maintains a regional office in Hartford.
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