Killingly Amazon warehouse developer again reduces size of facility
Sara Bedigian Killingly — The developer of a proposed 1.3 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center on Westcott Road presented a new application to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission Monday night that included a reduction of the building size and parking area, as well as advanced wetlands mitigation.
Ryan Companies Project Engineer Tim Onderko said the size of the building has been reduced by 58,000 square feet in addition to an 87,000-square-foot reduction in an earlier revision.
The new application said the building will be 1.288 million square feet with 290 acres of the 555-acre site designated for permanent conservation and protected space.
Onderko said the developer has also reduced the parking area by 230 spaces, further reducing impervious area on the property.
“Great care and concern have been put forth in this project ...” Onderko said. “This package alone I think sets a new precedent for preservation and conservation here in Killingly.”
This action comes after commission members voted 3-2 to deny the initial permit without prejudice on July 6, meaning the developer could change and resubmit the plan, which it did on July 15.
The commission denied the initial application because the developer failed to “exhaust feasible and prudent alternatives.” These alternatives included reducing the building footprint and creating a tiered parking structure instead of surface parking to reduce impact to wetlands — which Ryan representatives addressed Monday.
Onderko said the developer worked to reduce surface area instead of designing a tiered parking structure. He said that while a tiered parking structure would be feasible, it is not a “prudent alternative” because it would have no impact to the site wetlands.
He said the proposed surface parking lot is designed to provide optimal pedestrian and vehicle safety and emergency access, as well as allowing for landscape plantings and green space.
Onderko compared the proposed facility to other warehouse and distribution sites around the area, stating that “from a current design and building operations, we believe it is in line with current standards.”
Onderko also addressed previous public comments about making smaller buildings instead of one large facility. He said the development of the one facility is concentrated in one space as opposed to fragmenting the site, which would lead to more development and impact.
Emphasis on wetland mitigation
Ryan representatives said their revised submission advances wetland mitigation efforts and could improve environmental conditions.
Dean Gustafson, senior soil and wetlands scientist at All-Points Technologies Corp., said the revised submission includes five years of post-construction monitoring to “ensure the mitigation areas are achieving their success standards, providing the appropriate level of wetland functions and values.” According to the established code, he said only two years is required.
This also includes monitoring of invasive species for five years, Gustafson said.
The application maps 214 acres of conservation area and 76 acres of land that will be given to the town as a conservation easement.
Gustafson said he is highly confident the development can replace over 23,000 square feet of low-quality wetlands with nearly 83,000 square feet of high-quality wetlands.
Gustafson said in the 40 years he has been a wetland consultant in Connecticut, he has never been involved in a project that has this much conservation area that has been provided to the town.
“This is a significant amount of land that is being preserved in perpetuity that will also preserve aquatic and wetland resource habitats in and around this project site,” Gustafson said.
The site will impact nearly 3% of low-quality wetlands.
“Any suggestion that a project can't be approved because of loss of wetlands, including low-quality wetlands, is not accurate,” Evan Seeman, an attorney representing Ryan Companies, said.
Intervenor status and opposition
Twelve residents filed intervention petitions against the project prior to Monday’s meeting.
Commission chair Sandy Eggers said the commission has not reviewed the forms yet and did not feel prepared to make decisions on intervention status Monday. The commission voted to make a decision on the status at its next meeting on Oct. 5.
If intervention status is granted, town lawyer Rich Roberts said, the intervenors becomes a party in the proceeding and “have a seat at the table” when the commission meets with the applicant as opposed to just being part of public comment.
Michelle Murphy, leader of the Keep Killingly Rural Coalition, said Monday if she and members of her coalition can be granted intervention status, the developer and commission can discuss their concerns of soil erosion, stormwater runoff and groundwater control, and water quality with the coalition’s expert witness.
The intervenor status will allow the coalition’s expert witness to respond to questions and work with the developer and commission.
Ryan Companies has filed an opposition to the public’s intervenor status petitions.
Residents have been fighting the approval of the project since it was first filed several months ago and continued to do so Monday, citing concerns that ranged from traffic and road safety to pollution and environmental problems.
“This is the Last Green Valley, it cannot be a green valley without the green,” resident and high school student Avery Main said. “Building this Amazon facility will cause irreparable damage. As one of the future generations of this town, I hope you take my opinion into consideration.”
The public can also submit written comment online by 2 p.m. before the commission’s next meeting.
Pending litigation
Attorneys representing Ryan’s contract purchaser, WE Acquisitions LLC, and the owners of the more than 25 properties that make up the site, filed an appeal in Putnam Superior Court on July 22 alleging the commission was “biased and illegally predetermined an intent to deny the application.”
The case, which has since been transferred to Hartford Superior Court, has scheduled a remote status conference at 11 a.m. on Oct. 13, according to the court docket.
The commission went into executive session following the public portion of Monday’s meeting to discuss pending litigation with town staff.
Monday’s meeting marks the first night of public hearing for the new application of the proposed facility. The commission voted to continue the public hearing to its next meeting on Oct. 5.
The Planning and Zoning Commission is also slated to hold a public hearing on the project at its Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.
Developer wants more housing in Enfield MassMutual redevelopment as part of first site plan
Joseph Villanova
ENFIELD — The developer behind a planned revamp of the MassMutual site is seeking 23 more housing units in its "phase one" site plan.
Branford-based MB Financial Group wants to redevelop the office campus at 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Blvd., a 65-acre site formerly home to insurance company MassMutual, into a mixed-use complex with as many as 487 apartments and condominiums and some 12,000 square feet of commercial space.
The developer filed a site plan application, formally received by the town last week, for "phase one" of the planned development.
A project narrative included with the application states that the approved master plan included a total of 157 new construction townhouse units, but the developer is now seeking to build 180. With 178 apartments to be built in the three vacant office buildings, the total count would be 358 housing units, representing a 14.5% increase in the overall site density.
The remaining housing included in the approved master plan is a potential new construction apartment building that would have five stories and 129 units.
The "phase one" site plan includes the 178 apartments in the existing offices, approximately 12,000 square feet of commercial space, and the construction of 62 new townhouses, spread across three of the property's eight lots.
MassMutual left Enfield for Springfield, Mass. in 2021, leaving the site largely vacant since. An earlier development, a sports and entertainment complex dubbed "All Sports Village," earned some town approvals in 2024 but fizzled out before any construction began.
MB Financial Group purchased 85 and 100 Bright Meadow Blvd. for $4 million in May 2025, filing applications for its redevelopment plan not too long after. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a zone change and master plan for the Bright Meadow Boulevard site in September 2025, and a subdivision application in April 2026.
The agenda for the PZC's Sept. 10 meeting indicates that the town must act on the application by Nov. 14.