Simsbury Wetlands Board Receives Application For Massive Housing Project At Former Insurance Company Site

SIMSBURY, CT — A once-controversial housing project application rejected by the town two years ago is back before local land-use commissions.

The Simsbury Conservation Commission/Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency has received an application for a 669-unit residential development proposed for the former Hartford Insurance campus on Hopmeadow Street, reviving a project that was rejected by town zoning officials in 2024.

The application, filed by SL Simsbury, LLC, seeks a wetlands permit to construct 669 residential units and associated site improvements at 200 Hopmeadow St.

The proposal includes work within the town’s upland review area, triggering review by the wetlands agency.

Commission members will formally receive the application on Tuesday, March 17, at their meeting at 7 p.m. at Simsbury Town Hall.

The proposal marks a reapplication tied to a broader redevelopment concept for the long-vacant campus formerly occupied by The Hartford Insurance Co., which closed the Simsbury complex more than a decade ago.

A previous version of the project was denied by the Simsbury Zoning Commission on Feb. 21, 2024, in a 5-1 vote.

That application, submitted by SL Simsbury LLC with Holden Sabato listed as the applicant, proposed 518 housing units along with commercial, retail, and office space at what was labeled 140 Hopmeadow St.

The 2024 plan had already been scaled back from an earlier concept calling for 580 housing units.

Public hearings on that proposal opened Dec. 18, 2023, and were extended multiple times through January and February of the following year as representatives of the development team presented various elements of the project.

During those hearings, many residents raised concerns about potential impacts on traffic, neighborhood character, and local schools if a large number of new residents moved into town.

Others expressed support, citing the need to expand housing supply locally and across Connecticut.

SL Simsbury then filed suit against the town regarding the decision in March 2024, with the case culminating in a Connecticut Superior Court decision against the plaintiff in January of this year.

SL Simsbury, however, is looking to appeal the January decision, doing so via paperwork filed in court earlier this month.

Under local land-use procedures, approval from the wetlands agency is a prerequisite before the developer can submit a new application to the zoning commission.

The wetlands commission will next determine whether the application involves a “significant activity” under inland wetlands regulations, a decision that could require a formal public hearing before further review proceeds.

For the March 17 Simsbury Conservation Commission/Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency agenda, click on this link.

From Feb. 28, 2024: 'Huge Development Project Dead In Simsbury'