🔒Affordable housing complex with 41 units approved in Newington

The Newington Town Plan and Zoning Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a 41-unit affordable housing development at 103 Louis St., clearing the way for a Cromwell-based developer’s second affordable housing project in town. Premier Real Estate Services II LLC plans to build four rows of townhouse-style buildings ranging from five to 14 units each. Of the 41 units, 13 would be set aside as affordable: six for households earning up to 80% of area median income and seven for those at 60% of AMI. The remaining 28 units would be market rate. The 2.7-acre property, currently an open field at the intersection of Louis Street and Pascone Place, is owned by Innate Investments LLC. It is zoned for planned development. The approval came with eight conditions, including a requirement that the developer connect to the Metropolitan District Commission’s water and sewer system, install a crosswalk with accessible ramps on Louis Street and add illuminated rectangular rapid flashing beacons at the crossing. The developer must submit a final affordability plan before receiving a certificate of occupancy and provide annual reports to the commission documenting how affordable units are distributed throughout the development. The application was filed under Connecticut’s 8-30g affordable housing statute. Town Planner Paul Dickson told commissioners that Newington appears on the state Department of Housing’s 8-30g safe harbor list — meaning its affordable housing stock has reached the 10% threshold under state law — but that the list does not take effect until March 1. He said the 2024 list, in effect when the Louis Street application was filed in December, governed the application. Normally under 8-30g, the burden is on the town to demonstrate that a denial was justified by specific, substantial public health or safety concerns that outweigh the need for affordable housing — a high bar that towns routinely fail to clear on appeal. Once a town achieves safe harbor, that burden shifts back to the applicant in any appeal, as in a standard zoning dispute. Dickson cautioned against reading too much into the milestone, noting that the 10% figure is calculated against the town’s overall housing stock on an annual basis and could shift. “The town should consider additional (8-30g) applications in the future,” he said. Premier Real Estate received approval in October 2025 for a separate 40-unit affordable housing development at 220, 226 and 244 Kitts Lane near the Berlin Turnpike.