New London — The developer who has proposed to build an apartment building with a grocery store on the ground level at the corner of Bank and Howard streets told the City Council Monday night he hopes to break ground this fall, though the development plan no longer includes the Fiddleheads Natural Food Co-op or an affordable housing component.

Kyle Klewin, a partner at Groton-based Klewin Development, presented an updated plan for the so-called Parcel J as part of his request for a six-month extension of the prime developer status he has held at the property since 2013. The council voted unanimously to authorize the mayor to extend the agreement.

Klewin’s project was originally expected to include a roughly 18,000-square-foot space for Fiddleheads, but a few months ago, Fiddleheads backed out of the letter of intent both parties signed last year, Klewin said.

“We had a letter of intent with Fiddleheads to take the ground floor and the first floor was designed for a grocery usage with them in mind, so we went a long way with them,” he said. “In the end, they had a management change and decided they didn’t want to move from where they currently are.”

Managers of Fiddleheads could not be reached to comment Monday night.

The new plan calls for about 7,000 square feet on the first floor to be devoted to a retailer, perhaps another grocery store, though no tenant has yet been identified.

“That could be open-minded to a retail market, a hardware store, or something that would support the local community,” said Lee Blackwell, a project executive at Klewin Development. “We do not have a tenant identified for that at this point in time, but we are of the opinion that if we build it they will come.”

The housing portion of the development was originally to include 31 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom apartments, with 80 percent of the units to be market rate and 20 percent to be affordable housing.

Now it is slated to feature 29 one-bedroom units and 28 two-bedroom units, all of which will be market rate, Klewin said.

The design of the building has also changed — from a U-shaped footprint to an L-shaped footprint — and the Planning and Zoning Commission will have to approve the amendments to the building’s design.

Part of the reason the project will no longer include affordable housing units is that the state turned down Klewin’s application for Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties funding, which would have required an affordable housing component.

Instead, Klewin said he will finance the project with his company’s own cash equity, which Klewin said will allow the project to move forward much more quickly.

“We’re looking to try to get something in the ground this fall,” he said. “This is going to be financed with our own equity so this should go as fast as we can get the approvals.”

Pennsylvania-based A.R. Building Co., which has agreed to use Klewin Construction as project manager for its own proposed rental housing development in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, is also now involved in the Parcel J project, Klewin said.

Klewin said his next steps — aside from the Planning and Zoning process — are to finalize a development agreement with the city and then to negotiate the purchase price for the property.

The site, which is known as Parcel J, has been vacant for decades. In 1972, the New London Redevelopment Agency bought the land as part of a citywide Urban Renewal Plan and proposals for the property over the years have included residential and commercial development and a hotel.

The new extension of prime developer status for Klewin Development will expire Dec. 7, 2015.

c.young@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung