A Dallas-based developer was scheduled to break ground Wednesday on Silk City Commons, a 232-unit apartment complex at Manchester’s long-vacant Broad Street Parkade site, formally launching a mixed-use project that has been in the works for nearly two decades.
Anthony Properties, operating through APR Manchester LLC, planned a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning with town officials, general contractor Live Oak Contracting and development partner Perry Reid Properties. It comes about two months after Anthony Properties purchased the roughly 23-acre parcel for $3.6 million on April 28.
The roughly $80 million project takes its name from Manchester’s history as a silk manufacturing center. Designed by Dietz & Company Architects, the development will feature market-rate apartments, about 13,000 square feet of commercial space along Broad Street, a pool, pickleball courts, a dog park and community gathering areas.
The site is near the Bigelow Brook Greenway, Center Springs Park and the Cheney Historic District.
The property has sat vacant since discount department store chain Bradlees filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in late 2000 and completed liquidation in 2001.
Town officials first targeted the site for redevelopment in 2008. The effort included a 2021 development agreement with another firm that was terminated in 2022 over financing concerns, followed by litigation that was settled last year.
Anthony Properties emerged as the prospective buyer in October 2025, when it filed an application with the Planning and Zoning Commission.
