American Can’s corporate campus is a potential home for Greenwich housing development

American Can once had its headquarters in a striking Brutalist structure surrounded by more than 154 acres of forest in a quiet corner of Greenwich along the New York border and a stone’s throw from the Westchester Airport. Developers are now proposing a major housing development on the land around the office building and its adjoining facilities that could add up to 309 new units of housing along American Lane, which acts as an access road for the offices.

The units are to be spread across 55 buildings, which will comprise a mixture of townhome clusters with two-, three- and four-unit structures and 12-unit apartment buildings.

Currently the property is owned by Tishman Speyer; Greenwich American Inc., the company proposing the development, lists as its president Jerry I. Speyer, a co-founder of the global real estate company.

The current proposal, presented to the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Committee (PZC) on Dec. 20, is significantly scaled back from earlier concepts, which would have placed as many as 456 units on the property spread across multiple buildings. But even the revised version is on a scale of development, which multiple members of the PZC considered beyond the scope of any other development seen in institutional memory.

PZC Secretary Nick Macri noted that “we’ve seen this kind of housing before in the ’60s and ’70s, but there are some things in the text amendment that should probably be discussed in the big picture.”

Given the scope of the project the council members and the applicant’s representative, John Heagney of Heagney, Lennon & Slane LLP, agreed that the best course of action would be to hold a more in-depth discussion of the proposal at a later date. The decision was ultimately made for the development of a more detailed plan on the part of Greenwich American to present at a meeting scheduled for Jan. 11 at 5 p.m., while the PZC would further study the issues at hand and seek clarification from the Greenwich Housing Trust, which is involved in funding affordable housing developments in the city about its involvement in the project.

While there was broad support for moving ahead among the members of the PZC, several public comments were submitted via email voicing concerns about the potential development. Among the concerns raised was the question of sufficiently available water in the reservoir near the site in case of a fire, and the chances of increased runoff from roofs causing flooding in the Byram River. Another resident was worried that the proximity to the Westchester Airport might require FAA approval.

PZC Chairwoman Margarita Alban was supportive of the project.

“From my own point of view this is fantastic, the direction you’re moving in,” Alban said. “I hear Mr. Barlow saying the (Housing) Trust would like to see it tweaked but the direction we’re moving in sounds really good. It sounds like you’re really trying to craft a win-win.”

“We think this is something that can be significant to the town,” Heagney agreed. “After more than 30 years founding and funding a trust fund and finally adopting it, we think this is something that will make it actually valuable rather than a trophy on the shelf.”