A Pennsylvania developer this month is starting to build Station 280, a 235-unit apartment complex that will become the biggest residential development in Granby’s history.

Burkentine Builders, which has extensive experience developing rental housing in Pennsylvania and Maryland, plans studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units for Station 280.

The project is being built on 42 acres of woodlands and fields north of Route 20 and 10 near the town center. All will be market-rate rents ranging from $1,600 to $2,650, said Mike Burkentine, vice president of sales and development.

“The location speaks volumes about the town — it has a small-town, hometown feel. The town is putting in sidewalks, and that means a lot to us because the walkability factor in our opinion is going to be fantastic,” Burkentine said.

Burkentine Builders is one segment of a family-owned construction and development business that builds apartments, single-family houses and commercial buildings in the mid-Atlantic region. Granby is its first venture in the Connecticut market, and Burkentine expects more.

“Our company is all about being outside of Class A markets — we’re not interested in downtown Hartford high-rises with $5,000 a month,” he said. “We deliver meaningful spaces in communities that have that hometown feel.”

The company’s Pennsylvania portfolio includes hundreds of apartments and townhouses in Gettysburg, Hanover, New Freedom, York, Mechanicsburg and Red Lion, mostly in three-story buildings like the ones planned for Station 280.

The Granby complex will have seven buildings of apartments along with a pool, clubhouse, fire pit, fitness center, dog park and bike racks.

Jonathan Vosburgh of Bloomfield-based Roswell Development and Eric Brown first proposed the Station 280 project to Granby planners nearly three years ago, and Burkentine later acquired it.

“The opportunity presented itself through some relationships we had. We determined Granby is in need of housing,” Burkentine said. “The project is attractive because you can walk to the school, walk to the ice cream shop or the coffeeshops and restaurants. And when you bring a project like this to a town, businesses thrive.”

Burkentine expects to be doing more projects in Connecticut.

“When we go into a state, we’re looking to build upwards of 500 or 1,000 homes. So we’re on a mission to hunt down more projects,” he said.

Nationally, the housing industry is going through a powerful cycle of demand, especially for apartments, he said.

“Our company ramped up during COVID. We knew that since the Great Recession, there was a depression in new subdivisions. That combined with COVID would create a need for housing in a way we’ve never seen before,” he said.

“Interest rates are going up. People are unsure right now what to think — they look at an apartment or townhouse and say ‘that’s a safety zone.’ It gives the ability to work from home with the clubhouse and amenities,” he said.

“Market studies show we’re in a great migration now. We have customers moving back to be with grandkids, moving back because they miss their hometown, some people want dual locations,” he said. “And with young professionals, COVID really changed the business environment. People are working from home and we take that into consideration with our designs — we look at where the desk and the computer will be.”

The company expects to complete construction in a year and a half to two years. But pre-leasing will begin this winter, and apartments will be opened in phases.