Groton — David Costello, who lives on Benham Road close to the proposed site for a mixed-use development at the Five Corners area in the City of Groton, owns the home where his grandparents from Italy raised their children.

He purchased the home 32 years ago and raised his own kids there.

"Friends for generations have been born there," Costello said, describing the neighborhood. "Traditions are shared with one another. We share vegetables from our gardens. We converse over coffee in the morning. We celebrate milestones together. We greet one another as we come and go."

But he is concerned that if a five-story building is approved at the corner of Benham and Poquonnock Roads, within walking distance of Electric Boat, it would destroy the old neighborhood where people update and remodel their small homes and take pride in ownership. He also is concerned about the potential for accidents from cars exiting the development.

Costello said there needs to be economic development but not on that large of a scale.

Most residents speaking at a public hearing Tuesday evening on a mixed-use building proposed for the Five Corners neighborhood continued to oppose the building's scale and raised concerns about traffic, noise and the impact from construction, though they agreed the area needs some kind of development.

A smaller number said the proposal represents an opportunity to address blight in the Five Corners area at the intersection of Poquonnock Road, Mitchell Street, Benham Road and Chicago Avenue and make it more of a destination.

Proposed mixed-use development

GBU Capital LLC of Scottsdale, Ariz., is proposing the 78,285-square-foot building with 80 apartments on the upper four floors, and commercial space, a lobby and bike storage on the first floor, according to the application.

GBU Capital revised its application after the city's Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 last spring to deny the original application. Residents also had submitted a petition related to the prior application.

Attorney Harry Heller, representing GBU Capital, said the proposal encompasses the contiguous parcels of 2 Benham Road/91 Poquonnock Road, 8 Benham Road, 22 Benham Road and 1 Mariani Court, as well as 46 Benham Road, which is one parcel away from the others and proposed for additional parking.

Heller said the proposed pedestrian-oriented development near Electric Boat comes at a time when EB is poised to expand its employment base and there is a shortage of rental housing in southeastern Connecticut. The development is anticipated to have a significant number of renters who work at EB and would walk to work, he said.

He said the proposal is a "first step" in developing a sense of place for the Five Corners, a goal of the city's Plan of Conservation and Development, which identifies a vision for the area with pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development.

GBU Capital acquired the core properties through foreclosure, and then went out and acquired the additional parcels at 1 Mariani Court and 46 Benham Road, Heller said.

For the revised proposal, Heller said, the developer completely redesigned the exterior appearance of the building, added about 1,100 more square feet of commercial space on the first floor, and added slightly more of a separation between the building and an abutting property.

Residents weigh in

Three people spoke in favor of the proposal, eleven spoke in opposition, and two asked questions.

Nicolette Doukas and her husband, Mark Kuhn, supported the application as a way to bring energy to that section of the city. 

Doukas said she and her husband have lived in Groton for many years and Five Corners is a blighted area and depressed looking, and she thinks "anything they propose is a worthwhile endeavor, and we completely support it."

Tristen Taylor, another Benham Road resident, said she appreciated that the developer addressed, to a degree, concerns about the façade. But she said the developer did not address the size of the building, which she called "a monstrosity" that she will see from her house.

She said she would love to see planned development for the corner, just not a development that big in a neighborhood with tiny homes. "It's just too big," she said. "It just won’t fit in with our houses."

Emily Donnel, whose family home is on Elderkin Avenue, said the proposal would set a precedent for other buildings and developments in the area. "So in five years' time, 10 years' time, are we just going to be surrounded by other five-, six-story buildings?"

She also raised concerns about noise and debris from the building's proposed rooftop recreation area and about what protections would be in place to prevent overcrowding, especially on nights with fireworks.

Alan Shearer, who lives on Tyler Avenue, said that while it's being assumed that tenants of the building will work at nearby Electric Boat, there are many other employers in the area, from hospitals to Dominion's Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford, where they could work.

With the traffic flow on Benham Road, it is difficult for just one car exiting the gas station or Charter Oak, he said. The new development could potentially mean 125 more cars in the early morning or at night.

City Planner Leslie Creane said the Planning and Zoning Commission will be provided with guidance on what it can and cannot consider under the state's new zoning legislation.

The hearing was continued to the commission's Jan. 19 meeting.

If the commission ultimately approves the application for the zone change and text amendment, the next step would be for the developer to submit a site plan with more details.

k.drelich@theday.com