East Lyme commission to allow 400 apartments at Gateway
East Lyme —The Zoning Commission decided Thursday to allow 400 residential units at Gateway Commons near Interstate 95, Exit 73.
The development previously was zoned for 280 units.
The ruling revises the zoning regulations so developers from Simon Konover of West Hartford and KGI Properties of Providence can now build 120 more units.
The developers said the extra units will pay for infrastructure that will allow the pieces of the project — and its commercial phase — to move forward.
Gateway Commons is a residential and commercial village on roughly 200 acres of land near I-95, long planned but also long stalled during the economic downturn.
The commercial component has not yet been built, but the developers said they are planning for a big-box anchor store and improvements to I-95 Exit 74.
The commission voted 5-1 to approve the regulation change, after lengthy discussion.
Theodore Harris, representative for the developers, told the commission that the additional units would fund part of the extension of Society Road through the property.
The project's master development plan calls for a road, likely to be called Frontage Road, that would run through the property between Exits 73 and 74.
Harris also said there's a demand for the residential units, with the seven buildings that are completed nearly full.
He said the buildings generate revenue and have brought in fewer school children than expected: 17 overall, and a net gain of five over the number already living in town.
Some commission members countered that new families would move into the dwellings where those children and their families previously lived. They also said they were concerned that the commercial side could fall through.
On Tuesday, the Planning Commission decided the proposal for additional units was inconsistent with the town's Plan of Conservation and Development.
The commission's reasons included that the 280 units already provide an adequate balance between the residential and commercial components.
"There's fear in the town that we will never get the commercial aspect of the property, and we have to try to alleviate those fears by what we would do here," said commission member George McPherson.
David Yetton of KGI Properties said the developers have signed a contract to permit for the roadwork that accompanies the "big box store" and have been meeting with the DOT.
He said the developers soon will return to the commission with applications for commercial road work.
Harris also had read aloud a letter from the DOT to the commission that says the state wants to fully replace the I-95 overpass and likely will propose increasing the number of lanes on Route 161.
On Thursday, Zoning Commission member Terence Donovan cast the sole dissenting vote and said he took issue that a website for the development already advertised that it had 400 units.
The developers said this was an issue with marketing.
Chairman Matthew Walker said he believed the developers are committed to moving the project forward, which will benefit the town.
"I believe the developers need these added units to provide the necessary infrastructure to link everything together with the commercial," he said.
First Selectman Mark Nickerson, the only person to speak during public comment, said the town's apartment stock is below the state's average. He said many younger people are now seeking apartments.
He added that the town's student population is declining and projected to continue to decline.
He added that Gateway is intended to spur economic development and that the project's infrastructure improvements have state, regional and local support.
Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich
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