Killingly wetlands commission to hold public hearing on Amazon distribution center Sept. 14
Sara Bedigian
Killingly — The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission
will hold a public hearing on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. on a revised application for a
nearly 1.3 million-square-foot Amazon distribution center on Westcott Road.
Evan Seeman, a lawyer representing the developer, Ryan
Companies, told the commission Monday that Ryan is requesting a public hearing
for the distribution center, also known as “Project Husky.”
Seeman said the developer is also “considering some design
modifications” and plans to present the commission with a full presentation of
the new application at the September meeting.
The wetlands commission voted Monday to accept Ryan’s
resubmitted application with no site walk and a public hearing.
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 before
the town
approved a moratorium on new warehouse applications beginning July 20.
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 some surface parking to reduce impact to wetlands.
Seaman said that the developer’s new application includes
responses to the commission’s reason for the initial denial.
The application said Ryan has already reduced the building’s
size by 87,000 square feet, from 1,375,247 to 1,288,220 square feet, after
third-party reviewer Tighe & Bond provided comments to the plan during its
review.
The application states that the “reduced building size had
been thoroughly vetted by Amazon, and is currently the minimum necessary square
footage to support the operations proposed within the facility.”
In response to the tiered parking alternative, Ryan said in
its new application that it “considered the possibility of adding a new parking
structure, but determined that adding a parking structure would not reduce
impervious area significantly.”
Attorneys representing Ryan’s contract purchaser, WE
Acquisitions LLC, and the owners of the more than 25 properties that make up
the site, also
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 commission entered an executive session to discuss the
legal matter following the public portion of Monday’s meeting. The town has
until Aug. 25 to respond to the complaint.
The project would be built on 340 of the 556 acres on the
site. Out of the 340 acres, 76 acres will be placed under a conservation
easement. The remaining 216 acres is proposed to be deeded to the town for open
space and conservation land, according to the developer’s application. Most of
the acreage is undeveloped. One driveway is proposed to access the site from
Westcott Road.
The developer said in its application that the proposed
project is designed “to the extent possible to avoid impact to wetland resource
areas.”
According to the Wetlands Assessment report, 2.7% of the
site will be impacted by wetlands.
Ryan submitted its initial application to the wetlands
commission on Jan. 26 and the commission then held five nights of public
hearings spanning from February to June due to public interest.
Residents have actively spoken against the project, stating
the warehouse would create traffic, impact road safety, and cause pollution and
environmental problems.
The new application will also be reviewed at Killingly’s
next Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on Aug. 17.
Hacked meeting resumes as Norwich reviews Amazon plan for Occum
Connor Linskey
Key Points
A Norwich, Connecticut, commission meeting was hacked with
pornographic videos and a swastika.
Bluewater Management Group presented an application for a
2.1 million square foot Amazon fulfillment center.
The proposed Amazon facility is expected to create
approximately 500 full-time jobs.
The commission approved a separate project for a new
Teachers' Memorial Middle School building.
A public hearing for the Amazon project is scheduled for the
commission's October 1 meeting.
The Norwich Inland Wetlands, Watercourses &
Conservation Commission hybrid meeting
was abruptly interrupted on
Aug. 6 when someone hacked into the
meeting with porn videos and a swastika.
After the potential hackers had been removed from the
virtual meeting, the commission was able to carry on with
their proceedings. A highlight of the meeting came
when Bluewater Management Group presented an application for a proposed 2.1-million-square
foot Amazon fulfillment center within the Occum Industrial Center. This comes after
an Amazon
delivery hub opened in Plainfield in October 2025 and an application
for an Amazon warehouse was
accepted by the Killingly Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission
on Aug. 3.
At the Norwich Amazon facility, items would be
received and subsequently packaged before being shipped to local
delivery centers.
"This is truly the first-mile hub, where inbound
comes in, it's sorted on sight and goes out to the next
layer of fulfillment in the network," said Alexandra Escamilla,
head of development at Bluewater.
Economic benefits of the Amazon facility
Escamilla said that the project would create
approximately 500 full-time jobs with an average wage starting at $23 per
hour and full benefits packages available to all employees starting
on their first day of work. She added that more than 200 construction jobs
would be needed to build the facility.
In addition to job creation, Escamilla
said the property taxes for the Amazon fulfillment
center would boost the economy, noting that projects like this one
typically add over $150 million to a municipality's tax base.
When will there be a public hearing about the Amazon
project?
Community members will be able to weigh in on the
facility during a public hearing at
the commission's meeting on Oct. 1. The commission chose to hold
the hearing in October to give them additional time to review the
project.
"This is the very first step in a very, very long
process," Escamilla said. "As I'm sure you guys know for a
project of this scale, it requires careful engineering,
extensive diligence, detailed coordination with many, many agencies at the
state, local and federal level. We look forward to engaging with the city
staff, its elected officials and board members, as well as other
stakeholders throughout the process."
Construction of new Teachers' Memorial Middle School
proposed
The pornographic and antisemitic hacking came in
the middle of a presentation for a new Teachers' Memorial Middle
School building, which would be located next to the
current one at 15 Teachers Drive.
The new building would replace the present structure,
which has outlived its useful life. It would retain the
large fields already on the site, and include a parent drop-off area, bus
loop, walkable access to the fields from the gym, a courtyard and access
to the school from Teachers Drive and Western Avenue. It
is anticipated that enrollment would be approximately 550
students.
Norwich's Inland Wetlands, Watercourses & Conservation
Commission approved the project.
CT retirement communities expand as demand outpaces new development
Several of Connecticut’s 20 life plan senior living
communities are in various stages of expansion as aging baby boomers drive
demand for new retirement options.
One of the state’s largest projects is taking shape in
Groton, where Fairview recently secured $304.2 million in financing to build
193 independent living residences and 72 assisted living units, including 28
memory care units.
The project, called Vista Point, also will include a
43,000-square-foot amenity center with multiple dining venues, an indoor
saltwater pool, a performing arts center and additional recreational offerings.
Altogether, the expansion will occupy about 20 acres.
Nearby, Stoneridge in Mystic, currently home to 364
residents, recently broke ground on a $72 million expansion that will add 54
independent living apartments and 14 assisted living units to its 34-acre
campus. A new development in Stamford, Mozaic Concierge Living, is nearing
completion and will include 164 independent living apartments and 42 units for
assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing.
Projects in Simsbury and Bloomfield are also being pursued.
They are all life plan communities, an increasingly popular
senior living model that offers a continuum of care — from independent living
to skilled nursing — on a single campus, allowing residents to remain in the
same community as their care needs change. While contracts vary, residents
generally pay a substantial entrance fee based on the size of their unit, along
with a monthly fee that covers housing and future healthcare services.
Because of those costs, life plan communities primarily
serve higher-income retirees, and cater to their lifestyles.
Demand for such communities is rising as Connecticut’s
population ages and new development fails to keep pace. About 20.4% of the
state’s 3.69 million residents are age 65 or older, providing a large potential
customer base.
Meeting that demand, however, has become increasingly
difficult. From financing and zoning to staffing, life plan communities face
significant challenges even as wait lists continue to grow, industry officials
said.
According to the National Investment Center for Seniors
Housing & Care’s 2026 forecast, inventory growth is expected to remain
constrained because of lengthy development timelines, with most new units
coming from expansions of existing campuses rather than entirely new
communities.
“The next generation of individuals coming into our
retirement communities definitely want choice, diversity, options,”
said Billy Nelson, the CEO of Fairview in Groton.
‘Confident’ in demand
Fairview, which has been around for more than 130 years, is
an example of a longtime senior housing nonprofit that has more recently
invested in the life plan model, starting with its first phase in 2014, called
Thames Edge at Fairview, featuring 40 residential units.
Two years later, Fairview doubled the size of the
development with a second phase. But it’s taken until now to complete the
original vision to build out the much larger campus.
Nelson said it took three years just to arrange the $304.2
million in financing for the latest expansion. Chicago-based investment bank
Ziegler closed the tax-exempt bond financing deal, calling it one of the
largest such deals for a senior living community in Connecticut.
According to Ziegler, the financing will fund project
construction, refinance Fairview’s existing debt, establish debt service
reserves, cover a portion of interest costs during construction and pay
financing expenses.
Keith Robertson, managing director of senior living finance
for Zeigler, said there was strong demand for the Fairview bond issue, in
part because of the quality of the project.
“We had orders for about 4.7 times of the $304 million,” he
said. “We were able to lower the interest rates that we had gone out to the
market with because there was such high demand for those bonds.”
Across the country, capacity in both the for-profit and
nonprofit senior housing sectors is growing by less than 1% annually because of
construction costs, higher interest rates than in recent years and zoning
challenges. Many of those challenges are even more pronounced in the Northeast,
experts said.
Some larger organizations in the sector have shifted their
growth strategies to acquisition and affiliation instead of taking on the risks
of new construction.
Nelson said Fairview had to demonstrate demand by preselling
70% of the independent living units before lenders would commit to the project.
Some 57 apartments remain available ahead of the August
groundbreaking, but Nelson expects the community to be nearly full by the time
it opens.
“We’re very confident that there’s going to be more demand
for the product than there is supply,” he said.
Local hurdles
Financing is only one obstacle facing life plan communities
looking to expand.
While projects at Stoneridge and Mozaic have advanced, other
developments remain tied up in local approval processes.
In Simsbury, McLean Affiliates is seeking to add 40
independent living homes at its Meadow Homes campus. But the project is now the
subject of a lawsuit from neighboring property owners challenging zoning
changes the town approved to allow the expansion.
In Bloomfield, Duncaster is seeking to expand its life plan
community with a 61-unit residential building, 32 cottage units and a
14,200-square-foot addition to its existing buildings. After neighbors sued
over the project’s original approval, however, the nonprofit withdrew its
application, refiled it and restarted the local approval process.
“Our wait lists are so long, that’s why we’re trying to
expand,” said Duncaster CEO Kelly Papa, adding she remains shocked at some
of the public comments opposing the development, which she found ageist.
“As soon as the town approves it, the neighbors sue you, and
it just keeps it going,” she said.
Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge, which represents more
than 130 senior housing providers in Connecticut and Rhode Island, said she
believes the opposition in many communities reflects a wider pushback to any
new housing, not a specific movement against senior living.
She said towns should welcome expanded senior living
communities because residents who downsize can free up homes for younger
families, easing pressure on the local housing market.
“It’s part of the cycle of housing,” she said. “It frees up
either a starter home or a family home for another family to move into.”
Despite setbacks to its expansion plans, Papa said Duncaster
is continuing to invest in its campus, taking out a $15 million bond
through M&T Bank to finance renovations to its existing
facilities.
But the pressures extend beyond securing approvals and
financing. Papa said construction costs, interest rates and staffing expenses
have all risen, while hiring remains difficult across a range of positions.
“We need IT professionals, we need accountants, we need
chefs,” she said.
Upscale CT planned community banks on $305 million expansion. Home buy-ins to top $500K.
With a $305 million expansion at its waterfront campus in Groton, Fairview is
nearly tripling in size and becoming one of the larger continuing life care
communities in Connecticut.
The new Vista
Point complex will add 193 independent living units, 72 assisted
living residences, an indoor pool, performing arts auditorium, art studio and
more, and ultimately will boost Fairview’s overall population to nearly 600.
Construction formally kicked off last week, marking the
latest in a series of expansions of non-profit continuing life care communities
in the state.
McLean in
Simsbury last month won zoning permits to build the 40-unit Meadow
Homes addition, and StoneRidge in Mystic broke ground in June for a $72 million
addition of 14 assisted living apartments, 54 independent living homes and new
community amenities.
Maintaining Ethan Allen’s Premium Product in a Weak Housing
Market
Life care communities have become increasingly popular in
Connecticut, the state with the seventh
oldest population in the nation. McLean reported that a previous
expansion sold far ahead of schedule, and Fairview said 136 of its 193
independent living units were pre-sold in a little more than a year.
Prices are substantial, though: In filings with the state
social services department, Fairview
last year projected that the buy-in charges when Vista Point opens in
2028 will range from $509,000 to a little over $1 million depending on home
size. Monthly fees are projected to run from $4,200 to $7,800. The homes range
from 824 square feet to 1,580 square feet.
“Non-profits just do it better. Here a Fairview, just like at their organizations, our residents win and our employees win,” Fairview Chief Executive Officer Billy Nelson told local leaders and current Fairview residents. “Being a non-profit means every dollar we earn is reinvested into this community, this campus for our residents and our employees.”
As companies such as Electric Boat in Groton expand their workforces, the pressure on
housing has grown in southeastern Connecticut, as it has in
other regions.
This is the largest expansion in the history of Fairview,
which started out in 1892 as a modest retirement home for Odd Fellows
fraternity members. It has 70 acres along the eastern bank of the Thames River,
and has grown into a large-scale non-profit operation open to the public. It
offers the menu of independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing care
that’s typical for life care communities.
Fairview’s board thought hard before committing to such a
costly venture, but had a dream, said Edie Kalin, president of the Odd Fellows
Home of CT.
“The Fairview would be the jewel of the southeastern corner
of Connecticut, the Miracle on the Thames River,” Kalin said.
Outdoor amenities will include walking trails, tennis,
pickleball, bocce, a dog park and more.
“This is a project of real impact; it will be a significant
benefit to the local community,” said Brad Straub, president of Greystone
Communities, a key development partner in Vista Point.
“It will provide hundreds of skilled construction jobs
working for local trades and Connecticut subcontractors; once open it will
provide jobs for an additional 50 individuals,” Straub said.
“But most importantly Fairview is building a future for area
seniors. Residents can live their very best lives right here next to the water
they love,” he said.
Bridgeport’s Steelpointe Harbor project wraps up first residential phase
Eddy Martinez
After decades in the making, Bridgeport has completed the
first residential phase of the city’s Steelpointe Harbor project. The August, situated on the
city’s waterfront, features 420 apartments.
Developer Ryan Cronk said eventually the complex will
contain around 1,500 units.
Cronk says he’s happy about the occupancy rate.
“We just started moving residents in and I think we’re
getting close to right around 10% occupied and maybe over 20% leased,” he said.
“It’s going really well.”
Construction began on The August in 2024. The project
overcame funding challenges from banks and gradually morphed from a complete
luxury development to allotting certain amounts of apartments for middle-income
residentsBottom of Form
Gov. Ned Lamont said the redevelopment project could be
transformational for the city.
“If I hear anything from people is if I want to expand my
business here, if I want to grow here, if I want to move a company here,
whether it will be a place for our workforce to live, it will be right here at
Steelpointe in Bridgeport, I can tell you that,” Lamont said.
The new apartments replace a former industrial site which
was home to a power plant.
Rental costs at The August are relatively expensive for the
area, where market-rate prices start at over $1,900 base rent for a studio
apartment.
in the city is around $1,300, according to Zillow.
Several units at The August are reserved for middle-income
residents, although income restrictions apply.
Nandini Natarajan, CEO of the Connecticut Housing Finance
Authority, said the project has slated at least one third of completed units
for affordable housing.
“This development does bring as many as 160 units of housing
that are affordable to middle-income households,” Natarajan said.
Cronk said in 2024 he expected this to be the first phase in
an ultimately four-phase project in the peninsula where Steelpointe Harbor is
located.
The first phase costs around $135 million. As of now, Cronk
said the overall project could take at least a decade to complete.
Democratic State Rep. Antonio Felipe, who represents
Bridgeport, praised the project. But Felipe said he hopes more can be done to
create affordable housing in the city, with help from developers. The
Bridgeport area is impacted by high poverty rates and rising housing costs.
“I would love for us to keep creating maybe some ownership
opportunities, more taxpayers here in the city of Bridgeport, more affordable
housing opportunities, like I know you have in some of the units here,” Felipe
said.