New London — The Planning and Zoning Commission next month will take up a proposal that would alter zoning regulations and allow the owners of the Edgerton School property to build a 124-unit affordable housing development on the site.

Attorney Mathew Greene, who represents Massachusetts-based Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative and Peabody Properties, has submitted an application for an amendment to allow housing in a C-2 commercial zone.

The application is the first of several hurdles for Affordable Housing and Peabody as they attempt to build a replacement apartment complex for the residents of the Crystal Avenue high-rises, known as the Thames River Apartments.

Affordable Housing and Peabody jointly purchased the Edgerton property earlier this year.

The city's housing authority, which manages the federally subsidized complex off Crystal Avenue, is under a court order to upgrade or build new residences because of a class-action lawsuit filed by Attorney Robert Reardon on behalf of the residents complaining of the conditions there.

Thames River Apartments is home to nearly 380 residents.

Representatives from Peabody and Affordable Housing held two meetings this week to discuss logistics and to meet and hear from local service providers about space that might be needed at the site for programs such as the Boys & Girls Club.

New preliminary conceptual designs show the 3.3-acre Edgerton property expanded by more than 1 acre, to 4.45 acres, with frontage on Colman Street.

Affordable Housing Executive Director Michael Mattos said there are conditional sales agreements in place with four abutting property owners — three on Cedar Grove Avenue and another on Colman Street — that would relieve some of the concerns by the public about the small size of the site.

The plans detail a recreational facility off Colman Street and a mix of flats, townhouses and mid-rise buildings with an expansive common area and 124 parking spaces — one for each of the residences.

The largest of the buildings would have four stories, according to the conceptual plans. Nearly half of the site would be dedicated to open space.

Mattos said the plans were developed for discussion purposes and "nothing is etched in stone."

Mattos said architects still are developing plans for later submission to the city that will take into account any technical issues and factor in things like water drainage and fire suppression issues.

He said plans for the site likely will be revised before going to planning and zoning and will blend in with the existing residential neighborhood.

The company continues to develop funding sources, likely a mix of state and federal funds for construction of the development.

C-2 zones, according to regulations, are referred to as limited commercial districts and accommodate a host of uses, but not residential.

The proposed changes, if approved, would impact all C-2 zones citywide and are not specific to the Edgerton property at 120 Cedar Grove Ave. The property is never mentioned in the application and is not to be considered by the commission when it goes to a public hearing at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 at City Hall.

Greene said Friday the property was at one time zoned R-1A, or low-density residential, and had allowed for cluster residential developments with a special permit.

The City Council earlier this year had lifted deed restrictions on the property put in place by the city for the former owner, Peter Levine.

"The intent of the amendment is to be consistent with a trend in current planning in which mixed use development of commercial and residential is encouraged to create a mixed use of services, retail and residential living," Greene wrote in the application.

"The concept behind this is to integrate residents with commercial uses to allow for greater amenities for the residents within a short distance and provide benefits to the commercial enterprise," he wrote.

In addition to allowing for residential housing, the proposed zoning amendment calls for changes to lot sizes, setbacks, building heights and open-space requirements.

The zoning amendment will need approval before the owners can apply for site plan approval of the proposed $40 million housing development.

That development, as opposed to the high-rise apartments on Crystal Avenue, will become a taxable property.

g.smith@theday.com