Declaring that the town has to stay current, West Hartford approves 172 luxury apartments near Blue Back Square

Despite complaints from nearby neighbors, West Hartford’s town council on Wednesday night gave a key approval to Continental Properties’ plan for 172 luxury apartments about two blocks from Blue Back Square.

At a three-hour-long hearing, several business and community leaders along with Kingswood-Oxford School representatives praised Continental’s proposal as a source of economic development and an estimated $800,000-a-year in new taxes.

“Progress, opportunity, change — these are all words that we have to embrace as we go forward with economic development and look toward the future of our town,” former council member Lee Gold said.

Town resident Marc Shafer said Continental’s vision of a modern, amenity-rich apartment complex would help keep young professionals to stay in town rather than moving to bigger cities.

“Whenever my kids come home, they say there’s no place to live. This is the kind of place they live now - they want a rooftop lounge, a gym, a pool,” Shafer said. “They want bike storage, they want fire pits and barbecues.”

The council agreed, with Mayor Shari Cantor saying “If we don’t do some of these big things, we will stay still. We have to keep moving our town forward. The only way we can do that is to keep reinventing ourselves.”

The council approved a zone change for Continental by a 7-2 vote, with members Mary Fay and Alberto Cortes voting no.

More than a dozen speakers argued both sides of the issue during the hearing, and another two dozen residents sent written comments.

Representing the local Firefly Studios video game development company, Megan Ouellette predicted Continental’s apartments would help Connecticut and the town stop the drain of young people.

“We want our young professionals to stay here, and this is what they’re looking for,” she said. “This will help businesses like mine and bring young people back.”

The town’s Chamber of Commerce also endorsed the proposal at the hearing.

If the project advances, Kingswood-Oxford would sell the land at 950 Trout Brook Drive to Continental. That income would be important to the school, said Mark Conrad, treasurer of the trustees board.

“We’re a non-profit institution, we work hard each year to break even on our budget,” Conrad said. “We truly believe this deal will make K-O stronger and make West Hartford stronger.”

But the prospect of a six-story complex with more than 320 parking spaces got a cold reception from many nearby homeowners. The property is the former site of the Connecticut Children’s Museum, and many speakers decried the loss of the relatively quiet, low-key operation.

Calling Continental’s proposal “a behemoth” that will create noise and air pollution, Outlook Avenue resident Marina Creed urged the council to reject it.

“They are an outside developer. This is not a benefit to West Hartford,” Creed said. “We need family buildings that are able to serve the people who want to put down roots.”

“This will upend our neighborhood,” warned Jeanne Bonner, whose Outlook Avenue home is behind the 3.9-acre site. “This proposal doesn’t do anything for families and children. This private transaction is threatening to change a major corridor in our town.”

Dan Corjulo of Robin Road agreed, saying “I’m all for economic development — this is economic exploitation. This is not in the community’s best interest.”

Outlook Avenue resident Connor Marshall, a civil engineer and recent college graduate, said he doubts many people in his circumstances could afford the rents.

“I think I fit that ‘young professional crowd.’ If we’re talking $3,000 a month, that’s well over half my monthly income,” Marshall said. “The math doesn’t add up.”

Mary Jo Andrews, a resident of the nearby Hampshire House condominiums, said a large housing complex would worsen the already severe traffic at Trout Brook Drive and Farmington Avenue.

“The building is going to be huge,” she added. “The size is completely disproportionate to the neighborhood.”

Outlook Avenue homeowner Michael Cocca also opposed the project.

“I ask you to reject this for the sake of safety, the environment and the neighbors,” he told the council. “The elephant in the room is the parking lot — it’s huge. This is going to be 24/7 with car alarms, beeping, driving. I want a setback from that parking lot.”

Continental is planning a mix of one- to three-bedroom units, and would set aside nine as affordable housing for the next 20 years.

The company’s hired traffic consultants reported that the project would not significantly worsen traffic in the area. It is proposing that the northbound left turn lane on Trout Brook Road before Farmington Avenue be changed into a southbound turn lane serving the apartment complex.

Tim Hollister, Continental’s attorney, argued that his client wouldn’t allow significant noise from the property because if it would bother neighbors, it would also disturb his tenants.

Hollister said Continental has built more than 1,200 luxury apartments over the past 10 years in communities ranging from South Windsor, Glastonbury and Trumbull to Rocky Hill, Milford and Shelton.

After construction, the company retains and manages its apartment complexes, providing stable management, a steady contact for the town to deal with, and an added incentive for quality construction, Continental said.

The company said its project would feature a golf simulation room, a fitness room, a 1,500-square-foot outdoor pool with loungers and cabanas, a rooftop patio, electric vehicle charging stations, firepits, grills and outdoor patio tables.

Ultimately, the council concluded that West Hartford is changing and needs to encourage similar projects if it wants to progress.

“This is in harmony with the area around it. We are so lucky we have people who want to develop in this town, and people who want to live here,” council member Liam Sweeney said. “I’m really excited to see what this will bring to the town.”

Fay said she’s concerned about overdevelopment in town, and added that she likes traditional New England-style housing.

“I’m having issues with the scale, the size,” Fay said. “It’s ginormous.”

But Councilor Mark Zydanowicz argued that West Hartford can’t stay the way it used to be.

“We can’t do the same old same old. We cant get stuck in the past, he said. “This is transformative.”