After starting its application to build a multifamily development project in West Hartford with four different proposals and then later agreeing to reduce the number of units, a New York-based development firm formally withdrew the application Tuesday night.
During what may well have been the fastest combined public hearing and Town Council meeting in town history, the council voted to close the hearing and then to adjourn their special meeting in about four minutes.
The application from Vessel RE Holdings LLC and Vessel Technologies Inc. sought to change the zone for approximately 2.3 acres at 29 Highland St., from the existing single-family zone to a multifamily residence district.
The property is the former location of Hughes Health & Rehabilitation and is located just up the street from Bristow Middle School.
Vessel had applied to convert the property into a multifamily residential development that would qualify as a “set-aside development” under Section 8-30g of the state’s General Statutes, which promotes the development of low-cost housing with long-term affordability protections.
The state law includes an appeals process to override denials of affordable housing proposals by local zoning boards without just cause. It ensures that municipalities cannot deny an affordable housing proposal unless there is a specific significant health or safety concern.
Vessel initially proposed creating 112 multifamily units, but after a request from the council during an earlier public hearing on Feb. 25, it agreed to combine some single-bedroom units to create additional two-bedroom apartments. That reduced the overall number of units to 108.
At the start of Tuesday’s reconvened public hearing, which had been continued from March 20, Mayor Shari Cantor read a letter from the applicants’ attorney, Robin Pearson of the Glastonbury law firm Alter, Pearson & Hope.
The letter asked Cantor and the council to “please accept this request to withdraw the above-referenced application without prejudice.”
It continued, “This withdrawal is submitted after much deliberation. In respect of the valuable insights received from the town’s administrative staff, the applicant believes the proposed development will benefit from additional time to consider and improve upon certain design elements of its proposal.”
After reading the letter, Cantor asked for a motion to close the public hearing, which was then unanimously approved. She then convened the council meeting, which had only the Vessel application on the agenda, and asked for a motion to adjourn. That was also unanimously approved.
Some town residents had raised objections to Vessel’s redevelopment plans, including whether enough on-site parking would be included and the overall effect of the project on the middle school and neighborhood.
