Groton ― A multifamily housing developer is proposing a 201-unit apartment complex on Drozdyk Drive with a connection to The Ledges, an adjacent complex.

Representatives for Merion Realty Partners of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, presented its plan to the Groton Inland Wetlands Agency this week as it seeks a wetland permit from the town. Merion Realty Partners bought The Ledges, an existing 339-unit apartment complex, in 2018, according to its website.

The development is proposed as a market-rate apartment building at 375 Drozdyk Drive that will connect by driveway to the neighboring Ledges complex, said Deb Jones, assistant director of planning and development services for the town. The project requires a wetland permit, as well as site plan approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Bill Sweeney, a land use attorney for the developer, said at Wednesday’s meeting that Merion Realty Partners entered into a purchase contract for the 17.6-acre vacant site. It is currently owned by Groton Multifamily LLC and is valued at a little more than $1 million, according to the town’s geographic information system.

The parcel is located near AHEPA 250 III Senior Apartments, which is affordable housing for seniors, The Ledges apartment complex, and Solstice Senior Living at Groton, an independent senior living community. Interstate 95 is to the north of the site.

Sweeney said the property is located in a residential multifamily zone and is one of the last land parcels in that area that has not yet been developed.

The application to the Inland Wetlands Agency describes the development as a five-story residential apartment building. Seamus Moran, civil engineer for the project, said the proposal is designed to fit into the grade of the site and includes a lower-level amenity section, and a drive-under parking lot, patio areas, and four stories for the residential units.

He said there will be about 120 parking spaces on the garage level and about 141 surface parking spaces.

Sweeney said larger trees on the southern part of the property previously had been cleared, but the majority of the site, particularly the northern part and eastern edge, is still forested. The development is proposed for five acres on the southern portion of the property, and the developer is willing to add a conservation easement to the northeast corner of the property, if the commission wants that.

Sweeney said the development will have no direct impacts to wetlands and the developer is working with an engineer and a wetland scientist to minimize and mitigate any indirect impacts to the buffer area surrounding the wetlands.

Representatives for the developer presented information about site improvements, stormwater control and erosion control measures, along with engineering details, at Wednesday’s meeting.

Moran said that in addition to approval from the Inland Wetlands Agency and the Planning and Zoning Commission, the developer also needs approval from the state Department of Transportation and a storm water discharge permit from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The developer’s representatives plan to return to the Inland Wetlands Agency on Aug. 10.

k.drelich@theday.com