After a 12-year hiatus, work has begun on the second phase of the Park Square West residential development in downtown Stamford.
The planned 15-story, 209-unit apartment complex at 66 Summer St. and a 321-space extension of an existing city parking garage will be built by A.P. Construction Co. of Stamford and Hartford-based Associated Construction Co.
After breaking ground last month, the builders and project owner Trinity Financial Inc., a Boston firm that specializes in urban housing developments, hope for the $46 million residential tower and $8.8 million garage extension to be completed in May 2015.
When coupled with other residential developments that are either under way or in the planning stages, the downtown will likely see 500 to 600 new apartment units in the coming years, said Tom Walsh, executive vice president of A.P. Construction.
“It”™s going to bring a lot of density to downtown Stamford,” Walsh said. “I think it”™s a great thing for the city (and) it”™s in keeping with the city”™s overall goals, which are bringing residents to the downtown and the economic development of the downtown area.”
The apartments will consist of studios, one- and two-bedroom units. Work on the parking garage extension isn”™t expected to start until next spring.
For years, the future of the entire project was in doubt. Park Square West was initially a collaboration of the city”™s Urban Redevelopment Commission (URC), which owned a series of surface lots, and Corcoran Jennison, also a Boston-based developer.
Corcoran was appointed by the commission in 1997 to develop Park Square West as a combination market rate and below-market rate housing development. The project was divided into four phases, the first of which ”” a 143-unit building on Summer Street ”” was completed in 2001.
But the following year, the state Supreme Court overturned the city”™s eminent domain seizure of a property owned by Curley”™s Diner that separates the land parcels, forcing plans to be redrawn. Facing difficulties finding financing, Corcoran requested to be removed from the project. In 2011, the firm agreed to sell its development rights to Trinity Financial.
Last December, Trinity closed on a land disposition agreement with the city that outlined the acquisition terms for the remaining three parcels that make up Park Square West, said Marzuq Muhammad, a project manager for Trinity Financial.
Under the agreement, Trinity will develop phases two and four, both of which will feature market-rate units. “It”™s going to be a Class-A luxury apartment building,” Muhammad said of the second phase.
Plans for phase four call for a 19-story, 207-unit luxury apartment building at the corner of Washington Street and West Park Place. Both phases two and four will include first-floor retail space.
To date, Trinity has acquired the phase-two parcel and the URC continues to own the remaining two parcels. Muhammad said that under the land disposition agreement, Trinity and the URC plan to close on the sale of those two parcels just prior to the scheduled start of construction on each.
In order to meet the city”™s requirement that new residential developments contain a certain proportion of below-market rate units, the land disposition agreement between Trinity and the city outlines a plan for Charter Oak Communities ”” formerly the Stamford Housing Authority ”” to inherit the development and land rights to the phase-three parcel, which is zoned for up to 80 units.
If Charter Oak opts not to develop the third phase, Trinity would make a fee-in-lieu payment to the city.
