Sep. 11—NEW LONDON — The Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday is expected to discuss and possibly approve a New Haven-based real estate developer’s plans to build 500 new apartments and a six-story parking garage on the Fort Trumbull peninsula.
RJ Development + Advisors, LLC, doing business as RJDA Fort Trumbull AA, LCC, is proposing to build two five-story apartment complexes — one on Nameaug Street and another at 28 Walbach St. — along with a 1,200-space parking garage at 26 East St., according to the site plan and special permit applications received by the city.
In January, the three city-owned properties totaling 6.28 acres and now poised for development were sold to RJ Development for $500,001 through an agreement with the Renaissance City Development Association, the city’s development arm.
Several parcels on the peninsula have been vacant for almost 20 years, the result of a controversial demolition and development push by the New London Development Corp. using eminent domain that led to the landmark 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. New London.
According to an Aug. 28 application, the 247,450-square-foot Nameaug Street phase, part of a larger parcel north of Chelsea Street, will include 251 apartments — 44 studio, 136 one-bedroom and 71 two-bedroom units— and 234 parking places.
The 251,600-square-foot Walbach Street project site, located across the street from the city’s water treatment plant, will be home to 249 apartment units — 43 studios, 131 one-bedroom and 75 two-bedroom units — and 234 parking spaces.
Both apartment complex sites are nestled in the city’s maritime district and the city’s opportunity zone, the latter offering tax-free appreciation and deferred capital gains if certain conditions are met by developers.
The complexes will include outdoor amenities such as fire pits and seating areas with interior spaces set aside for offices, fitness centers and community rooms, according to the site plan applications.
The East Street garage, set to be located between Walbach, Smith, East and Trumbull streets, is designed to be a private garage, said Felix Reyes, the city’s director of economic development and planning.
He anticipated the proposed structure would serve Electric Boat and other local employers and will be built right across the street from where a new city community center is taking shape in the shadow of Fort Trumbull State Park.
“If you go down those streets right now, you’ll see them just cluttered with cars,” Reyes said. “As far as new housing, it’s an absolute need in the city.”
Reyes said it’s not uncommon for new housing complexes to have up to 700 prospective tenants vying for 200 available apartments. He called Jason Rudnick, principal at RJ Developments, a proven project closer who successfully brought a 203-unit apartment complex, The Beam, to Howard Street.
“He doesn’t mess around,” Reyes said, adding construction on the Nameaug Street complex could begin within the year.
City Parking Authority Director Carey Redd II said he’s been trying since 2016 to get “structured parking” into the Fort Trumbull area.
“While Electric Boat employees will use the lion’s share of the spaces, there’s also the community center, hotels and residential units going up, a myriad of patrons for that garage,” he said.
Rudnick could not be reached to comment on Monday. No rental price estimates were included in project applications. Monthly rent for studio and one-bedroom apartments at The Beam range from $1,891 to $2,616 according to several real-estate websites.
Mayor Michael Passero estimated the area is short roughly 10,000 housing units with the bulk of interested renters and leasers preferring to put roots down in an urban setting.
“These new complexes are delivering units that are in high demand,” he said.
The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday at City Hall to discuss the pending applications.
Originally posted by The day
