Groton ― Plans for 65 apartments at the former Colonel Ledyard School site in the City of Groton received the green light this week from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

The commission voted Wednesday 5-0 in favor of Bellsite Development’s application for the housing development at 120 West St., according to City Planner Leslie Creane.

“I’m obviously very happy with it,” developer Bill Bellock, principal member of Bellsite Development LLC of Manchester, said Thursday in response to the decision. “It’s been quite awhile, and now my real work begins.”

Bellsite Development plans to renovate the former elementary school, as well as add a second floor onto it, to house 27 one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units.

The development company also plans to build six, three-bedroom townhome units on the site and an apartment building with 20 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units.

The town issued in 2019 a Request for Proposals for the approximately 8-acre property and noted that the property is near the Five Corners neighborhood and four blocks from Electric Boat. Bellock has said the development is marketed toward Electric Boat and Pfizer employees and will help meet Groton’s overall need for housing.

At a public hearing last month, attorney Bill Sweeney, who represents Bellsite, described the apartments as market-rate, but attainable for Groton’s expanding workforce.

Paige Bronk, the town’s economic and community development manager, said at the hearing that the planned apartments within walking distance of Electric Boat will help meet both housing and parking needs, as the company ramps up hiring.

Bellock said Thursday that the first phase of the project will be the renovation of the school, which he expects to be completed a year from this fall.

He said the timeline for construction of the town house units and the building is to be determined.

k.drelich@theday.com