The Riverside neighborhood in Greenwich extends from I-95 down to a peninsula jutting into the Long Island Sound. The northern portion includes an under-utilized plot next to a McDonalds.
But, after failed attempts to win approval for another fast food restaurant, new developers are proposing a baker’s dozen luxury townhomes to the area.
The land, at 1205 East Putnam Ave., is currently home to an unused two-family home, which would be demolished to make way for 13 three-story buildings.
The project would fall under the Riverside Neighborhood Association’s domain, according to member Susan Foster.
“We favor this project because it will be residential and not, say, a fast-food restaurant open from morning till night with a lot of traffic,” Foster said.
The development would fit nicely with one of the Neighborhood Association’s goals: giving Riverside a cohesive downtown area, according to Jeff Hadzima, with the group.
“Improving the conditions, the aesthetics, the whole downtown corridor is a number one priority for our Association in terms of this project,” Hadzima said. “This site has seen a number of iterations over the years from retail to other housing developments, and we are very supportive of the scale and design of this project and its impact.”
However, there are still concerns from some residents over the traffic impacts and visual appeal of the project.
Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Margarita Alban said the Commission requested a traffic study to address these concerns.
“What happens because there's a constructed median on the Post Road where this exits, and people can only turn in one direction?” Alban said. “If they wish to head in the other, what are they going to do? How are we going to manage that? How does this affect neighborhood safety?”
Two of the townhomes would be what the town calls “moderate housing,” which is an affordability standard set by the town, where household incomes cannot exceed more than roughly $120,000 to $190,000 depending on family size. The rest will be sold for market rates.
“You price it so that people who are working in town, which we figured was kind of a middle level. It's called mid-income housing, actually. And so what it strives to get is folks that are at the mid-tier,” Alban said.
A moderate home sale price, as defined by the Greenwich standard, ranges between about $400,000 and $600,000, depending on home size.
The traffic study is still in the works, according to one of the developers, Ed Zislis, with plans to have the final proposal into the Commission by the end of the year.
Previously, a slightly larger apartment complex and a Shake Shack failed to win approval for the site, but residents seem supportive of the townhome plans, Zislis said.
If the zoning commission approves the plans, the market rate homes would sell for anywhere between $1.8 to about $2.4 million, Zislis said.
“The way the townhomes will be laid out, it'll be just a good fit for that neighborhood,” Zislis said.
