Ledyard officials hope proposed apartments will bring more people to town center
Ledyard — The first apartment buildings proposed in years in town received a special use permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday night, one of the last steps toward approval.
The project involves 32 apartment units divided into four buildings at 809 Colonel Ledyard Highway near Ledyard center, across from Village and Hickory drives.
The apartments will be a mix of two-bedroom and one-bedroom units, with some in a townhouse style.
Town Planner Charlie Karno said the complex would be a good step toward one of the town's goals of building population around Ledyard Center.
"That's one of the things that this project may accomplish ... If you're going to attract the kinds of commercial activity we'd like to see, you gotta have some population in the area," he said.
Called "The Ledyard Meadows Estates Luxury Apartment Community," the apartments are proposed by local developers Darwin Gebbie and son Alex Gebbie of Hebron, who manage P&D Property Management.
Apartments will be rentals, said P&D Property Management, and will range from 912 to 1,670 square feet, not including the attached garages.
P&D also manages the Hills at River View in Norwich as well as other apartments in Bozrah, Lebanon and Colchester.
Water will be provided from a main along Colonel Ledyard Highway.
The parcel was re-subdivided into two lots in an application that passed the commission last month, which also prompted questions about lighting on the driveway.
In response, engineer Brandon Handfield noted that the plan now includes pole-mounted, downward-facing LED light fixtures at 80-foot intervals along the road.
There are several acres of open space proposed behind the parcel, which includes a trail through the woods.
Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission Mike Cherry said the apartments likely would be geared toward "young professionals."
He said many of the former apartment complexes in town had been converted to condos over the years, which "changed the face" of who could afford to live in town.
Other housing near the town center, Cherry said, should "bring more commercial development which should tie in ... to Ledyard Center."
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