ThisCTplaza could become a future model for shopping centers

Aug. 13—A 54,000-square-foot medical building with offices for Griffin Health and Hartford HealthCare sits in the middle of the plaza, bordering a "green" surrounded by boutiques and restaurants. A sprawling apartment complex lines one side of the parking lot, with rents starting at $2,000 a month and offering an easy walk to the stores and restaurants.

"It's a micro community... it's an ecosystem within itself," said Kathy Ekstrom, development manager for Quarry Walk's developer, Seymour-based Haynes Group. "It's a simple formula: You build what people need and want. And that's exactly what we did."

Quarry Walk's last available apartments are expected to be leased up this month, even as its developer moves forward with plans for two new versions of the Quarry Walk model in Naugatuck and Beacon Falls/Seymour.

When all the boxes are unpacked, Quarry Walk will house about 300 people, employ 1,500 more and generate at least $1 million in annual tax revenue for Oxford. The development has also brought in visitors from around the region: Traffic on Route 67 in Oxford has nearly tripled, much of it heading to Quarry Walk, according to town officials.

With four of the state's 10 largest shopping malls changing hands in recent years and many of Connecticut's shopping plazas aging and emptying out, talk of a "retail apocalypse" has been widespread.

But some retail experts have argued that the "town center" model exemplified by Quarry Walk and many newer developments in the Sunbelt is the future of shopping ‒ and dining and living. With older generations downsizing and younger generations less willing to drive, in-person retail can thrive in a walkable cluster of housing, shops and services.

The town center concept is working for Quarry Walk businesses, Ekstrom said, citing low turnover and frequent requests from retail tenants to expand their storefronts. Chains are doing well in the complex along with smaller businesses that relocated from elsewhere in Oxford, she said. In the medical building, a decorative staircase and "living wall" is being extended to a third floor, where a dermatology practice is setting up shop.

"The number one complaint from throughout Quarry Walk is 'I didn't take enough space,'" Ekstrom said. "This is proof of concept for what Haynes came up with."

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Transit draws first town centers

Connecticut's town center-like developments first emerged in recent decades around train stations in densely-settled Fairfield County, with Wilton Center in particular providing inspiration for town planners in Oxford when Quarry Walk was first proposed. A mix of retail and residential, Wilton Center continues to attract new development activity.

Developer Tom Haynes, a second-generation builder from Seymour, saw the potential for creating a town center from scratch at a 32-acre stone quarry owned by his family in Oxford. Once a small mountain mined to the ground for sparkly gneiss and other rock, the quarry came with development rights when Haynes acquired it in 1999.

Without a traditional town center, Oxford's retail community was sparse and residents had to navigate plazas along Route 67 to visit what stores there were — or travel miles to other towns. "This is going to be an opportunity to bring goods and services and opportunities to Oxford," Ekstrom said of the early pitch on the Quarry Walk project.

Haynes' eventual plan to add rental apartments to his development was opposed by many Oxford officials when he first approached the town around 2008, said Jeffrey Luff, economic development director. Luff was on the town's planning commission at the time and recalled that concern about increasing population was one issue, along with the novelty of a mixed-use development.

"They'd never seen it before; they didn't know how it was going to react or work," Luff said. He took his fellow commissioners on a road trip to see Wilton Center and educated them about complexes in Florida that mixed retail and residential.

"So it was a little fight for Tom [Haynes]. But to make the long story short, he did win the day," Luff said. "At the end, the motion to approve was unanimous."

With town and state approvals in hand, ground was broken on the first buildings at Quarry Walk in 2015, with grocery and hardware stores opening in 2016. By 2019, much of the commercial space had been built and construction began on the first phase of what ended up being 162 apartments.Stone from the former quarry was used in building facades, cobblestones on the roads and as decorative elements throughout the development.

With the completion of the second residential building this June, Tom Haynes celebrated the realization of his vision of a ready-made community. "Our philosophy is rather simple...we focus on making people's lives better by providing access to a lifestyle that supports healthy living," Haynes said in a statement.

Quarry Walk sparks new projects

With Quarry Walk completed, its developer is now advancing plans for a similar project at a former quarry in Naugatuck and much more ambitious plans for a property that straddles Seymour and Beacon Falls. Located near the Metro-North train station, that development could house as many as 2,000 housing units, along with retail, services, a community center and pickleball courts or other recreational amenities.

Tom Haynes was among the group announcing $3 million in federal funding this June to build a 2-mile road connecting Route 67 in Seymour and Route 42 in Beacon Falls that would open up 200 acres for the potential Quarry Walk-like development

"We intend to have a lot of housing that anyone would want to live in, and mixed in with an entire community," Haynes said at the June event, held at Seymour Town Hall.

Lessons learned from Haynes Group's first major project in Oxford? Build more bike trails, Ekstrom said. Future projects will incorporate bike lanes on campus and connect to regional trails. With the aid of state funding, the town of Oxford is also connecting Quarry Walk to its civic center via pedestrian and bike paths and plans a 7-mile trail that spans the town.

For Luff of Oxford, developments like Quarry Walk are a lifeline for local businesses in an age of remote work, online shopping and homeowners looking to downsize. Younger people are also looking for walkable and bikeable areas where they can live, shop and access services like dog grooming and medical care.

"My advice for a town is get with the new program, or you're going to be out," Luff said. "This is the wave of the future. I think this is definitely the future, because you can literally hop on your bike and get anywhere."