A Groton developer has proposed to build a 30-unit apartment complex in Southington’s town center.
Hunter Build LLC, led by developer Robert L. Roberts Jr., is asking for town approval to build a new apartment development on a nearly 2-acre lot at Center Point Crossing on Liberty Street, town records show.
A project price tag wasn’t immediately available.
“It would be an infill development in the downtown area,” said Robert Phillips, Southington’s director of planning and community development. Residential streets abut each side of the lot, Phillips said.
The development would include 24 two-bedroom units, and six one-bedroom units, according to a plan Hunter Build submitted to Southington’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The building would be less than 30 feet tall. Nine of the units would be designated as affordable housing, with five of those restricted to people earning 60 percent or less than Southington’s median income.
Hunter Build is asking the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission for a zoning change to allow for the development. The area is currently zoned for one and two-family houses.
In its project plan, Hunter Build said the development would bolster ongoing efforts to revitalize Southington’s downtown. Officials from Hunter Build could not be reached for comment on this story.
“Increasing the immediate market area is an important tried and true revitalization strategy,” Hunter Build said. “There has been recent high‐density residential development in the downtown area within the past several years, an important asset for the downtown area.”
Hunter Build is also involved in another project in town. It’s currently constructing a $3 million, 40 unit age-restricted multifamily project on Hunter’s Lane, which the town approved last year, Phillips said.
Developers building single-family homes have also flocked to Southington in recent years.
From 2015 to 2018, Southington issued 339 single-family home construction permits, more than any other city or town except Greenwich, which approved 553 permits during that time period, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Southington has averaged about 85 new permits in each of the last four years.
