Condominium, Industrial Complex Nearing Final Hurdles

After 3 and a half years of starts and stops, it appears that the 61-acre, mixed-use development off Pleasant Valley Road and South Satellite Road is poised to clear its two final hurdles.

Indeed, the large-scale project, which calls for a 155-unit condominium development - to be called Nutmeg Village - as well as six industrial lots between 1.4 and 3.5 acres each, is now in the final stages of approval by the South Windsor Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands commissions.

On Tuesday evening, a public hearing was held before the planning and zoning commission to discuss the applications brought by developer Horseshoe Lane Associates for a re-subdivision to create the industrial lots and a special exception and site plan of development for the condominium units.

After a lengthy presentation by several representatives of the consulting firm Design Professionals, which was hired by Horseshoe Lane to help draft the plan of development, Vice Chair Bart Pacekonis summed up the commission’s collective feelings on the project.

“I know the developer has been at this for quite a while,” Pacekonis said. “Over time, there’ve been a lot of good improvements done to the project. I think it’s something that’s blossomed and gotten a lot better than the original application.”

The project originally called for a 202-unit residential condominium complex on 55.47 acres on South Satellite Road, with access solely through an industrial area, according to papers filed by the developer.

The planning and zoning commission denied the original application in May 2010.

Undaunted, the Horseshoe Lane over the last 19 months acquired two tracts of land to enable access to the proposed complex from Pleasant Valley Road, placating the concerns of the industrial neighbors on South Satellite Road.

Ultimately, the planning and zoning commission approved a zone change and plan of development for Nutmeg Village on Feb. 14. The state traffic commission followed by endorsing the project on April 16.

The project now needs final approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission, which meets tonight.

The Planning and Zoning Commission cannot act without the approval of inland wetlands, so the hearing was continued to its next meeting on July 24.

If approved, the project will bring over 150 units of housing aimed at “young, middle-class professionals,” according to Design Professionals President Peter DeMallie.

The condominiums would come in three styles: stand-alone, duplex and townhouse. They would range in size between 1,100 and 1,470 square feet, and would cost between $189,000 to $289,000, with 110 units priced under $200,000.

Nutmeg Village would also have, among other things, a clubhouse, sidewalks and a bus shelter.

Such housing is sorely lacking in the Greater Hartford area, which has caused Connecticut to lose a number of talented young professionals to other states, DeMallie said.

If approved, the project, market forces notwithstanding, would be completed by 2016, DeMallie said.

The trick is that the project still must be approved. Several commissioners still had questions about the project and some details - like when sidewalks had to be installed for the industrial lots - had to be worked out.

Still, DeMallie said after the meeting that the most telling aspect of how the project is now viewed was the lack of opposition during the public hearing. No one was present to speak out against the project.