Opposing plan for 600 units, CT residents say increased apartments ‘disgracing’ town character

Warning that 580 new apartments along Route 10 in Simsbury would worsen traffic, crowd the schools with new students and add a hefty burden to local taxpayers, a stream of residents Monday night urged the zoning commission to reject the Talcott Mountain South proposal.

While some speakers were neutral and at least one favored the project, most slammed it as vastly oversized in a town that’s already quickly adding population and transitioning away from being a highly sought-after suburb.

“We purchased our homes here because of the character of Simsbury,” seven-year resident Paul Ricciardelli said at a hearing at the Henry James School.

“I grew up in Southington and I’ve lived in Bristol and Plainville and New Britain,” Ricciardelli said. “I saved 10 years to be able to afford to move here because of the quality of life for my family. My fear with (allowing) continued structures like this is you will see this town denigrate itself into a Southington or a Plainville or a New Britain.”

Lori Boyko of Oakhurst Road was more outspoken, insisting that commissioners should reject the Silverman Group’s proposal because it’s far too large and highly unpopular among people she knows.

“If just over two residents occupy each one of the 580 properties, that will represent a 5% increase in our town population. That’s a relatively huge increase all at once,” she said. “We elect you to represent us. Our governing bodies don’t represent developers or even large taxpayers, not people who want to live here but people who already live here.

“By speaking to literally anyone in town you know this is unequivocally not what any of us want,” she told commissioners. “The vast majority of us are all on the same page about not wanting to turn Simsbury into an apartment community. There’s is no scenario where this is in the best interest of the town.”

The New Jersey-based Silverman Group wants to put up 588 rental homes, the overwhelming majority in three-story apartment buildings. But the project also includes rental duplexes and townhouses, all on the southern end of The Hartford’s former corporate headquarters along Route 10.

Barnard Drive resident Tom Turner warned that this would just strain the town’s infrastructure even more, saying that Route 10 is already plagued by traffic jams throughout the day.

“Taxes for schools, police, ambulance services, roads and walks will all be impacted,” Turner said. “The only recourse now is to stop further disgracing of the town character.”

Silverman is in the final stages of building Talcott Ridge North, a 280-apartment complex with a 120-bed assisted living facility and about 12,000 square feet of retail on the northern half of The Hartford’s former campus.

Public opinion seems mixed about Talcott Ridge North, with many people condemning it as visually overwhelming and a burden on the road and school systems. Others see it as a tax generator that reused about half of the 172-acre former insurance campus that has sat idle since The Hartford left.

Silverman contends that its proposed new complex would generate as much as $1.5 million in new tax income for Simsbury each year, and would offer additional benefits for townspeople.

“The proposed plan includes features which mitigate any overburdening of Simsbury facilities,” the company said in a letter. “The site has significant community amenities which include a club house with common areas and recreational facilities; the site has design features of sidewalks throughout and a multiuse trail with offsite access as well as a
common lawn and other areas which make it a true walkable community.”

Silverman is pledging to set aside 10% of the apartments for moderate- and low-to-moderate-income housing

The school administration submitted a statement projecting the development would bring 100 to 130 school-aged children.

“At the middle and high school levels, it would not be that big a deal, but this will certainly have an impact on our new Latimer Lane elementary school, bringing it more quickly to capacity than we had planned for,” the statement said. “Beyond the sheer numbers, it’s also impossible to predict the cost of specialized services if/when any students with
IEP’s that call for intensive programming or outplacement establish residency in this complex.”

Pete Harrison, director of Desegregate Connecticut and a Simsbury resident, said he supports the project, but doesn’t want it to be entirely rental housing.

“I’d strongly recommend this commission push for some homeownership options,” he said. “Two, there’s just way too much parking.”

Harrison said traffic after the project is built would still be less than during the peak of The Hartford’s operations. He also said demographic studies show families are having fewer children, so the concern about crowding schools isn’t warranted. And even though the new complex would be 90% market-rate homes, it would help reduce the upward price pressure on houses and rents, he said.

“We are in an affordable housing crisis. We have not been building enough homes,” he said.

The commission continued the hearing until Jan. 3.