100 Apartments Planned For Main Street In Stratford

STRATFORD, CT — A proposed development is expected to bring roughly 100 new apartments to Stratford.

Developer Kaali-Nagy Properties plans to build a four-story residential building in the 2000 block of Main Street after purchasing an approximately 3-acre site about six months ago from Christ Episcopal Church. The project, called The Village, received a largely favorable response from the town Architectural Review Board, which recommended the development Thursday to the Zoning Commission for final approval.

“This is going to be a wonderful community and a great advantage to the neighborhood,” Vice Chairman Steve Law said during the meeting, held via GoToMeeting due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The proposed structure will be 93,000 square feet, but will be located in the center of the property, set back from the street. It will include a roughly 5,500-square-foot amenity area and 97 apartments, which will range in size from about 500 square feet to about 1,200 square feet. The project will also have a 6,500-square-foot two-story building with an additional six units.

The apartments will rent at market rate, and 77 percent will be studios and one-bedrooms, while 23 percent will be two-bedrooms, according to Town Planner Susmitha Attota. The development will have 116 parking spaces. Amenities could include coworking areas, a gym and a private patio, according to architect Seelan Pather.

Managing Partner Damien Kaali-Nagy referred to the development as a “boutique project” and said the property deserved, “an amazing product, given the location.”

The Main Street site falls within Stratford’s transit-oriented development overlay district near the downtown train station. The district allows for larger scale projects than would typically be permitted in town, in order to encourage public transit use and mixed-use development.

Projects in the district are subject to a 45-foot height restriction, but the developer intends to request the Zoning Commission approve the four-story building at its proposed height of 50 feet in order to accommodate a gabled roof. The structure is designed in the New England colonial style, with white clapboard siding, chimney stacks and open porches. The two-story building, the most visible part of the development from the street, will have a similar appearance to the larger structure, but will be scaled to resemble the two-story homes on Main Street.

“It’s just a very classic Americana design,” Kaali-Nagy said.

Board member Tom Szarkowicz noted the existing building on the property is in the Carpenter Gothic style, which is rare in Stratford, while Attota said the development will help meet the demand for rentals in town and provide an option for seniors looking to downsize.

Law asked Kaali-Nagy if he had considered making The Village a mixed-use project, but Kaali-Nagy said he had not, particularly given the economic uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. Kaali-Nagy said the virus could delay the project.

“I think that everybody’s timeline right now is unpredictable,” he said. “… One way or the other, we’re going to get this done.”