Developer eyes 181-unit apartment complex in Windsor

A prominent Windsor developer is proposing to build a 181-unit apartment complex in town across four buildings at the corner of Day Hill Road and Great Pond Drive.

The developer, Daniel Ferraina, of The Ferraina Co. LLC, filed a concept plan proposal with the town in April to erect the multifamily units on former tobacco farmland at 10 Great Pond Dr. 

Plans call for about 45 units being split between four, four-story buildings, and 350 parking spaces to accommodate residents at the 7.5-acre site in the shadows of metal supplier Rolled Alloys Inc., town records show.

The developer is also proposing several amenities at the complex, including a swimming pool and a community building.

It’s not yet clear how much the development would cost, according to Town Planner Eric Barz. Ferraina could not be reached for comment.

The town’s Planning and Zoning Commission last week approved Ferraina’s concept plan by a 4-1 vote.

The project is not part of the long-awaited Great Pond mixed-use development, which is being master planned nearby by Massachusetts-based Winstanley Enterprises LLC. Hartford Business Journal reported in January that construction was underway on a 230-unit apartment community in Great Pond being developed by Fairfield’s Eastpointe LLC. 

Barz on Thursday said Ferraina is now tasked with submitting a site plan for his project that includes architectural designs that comply with the site plan codes for Great Pond Drive. There’s no indication of when those plans could be submitted to the town, Barz said.

No zoning change is needed for the development.

Ferraina, operating as The Real Group VI LLC, acquired the land at 10 Great Pond Dr. for more than $1.2 million in Aug. 2007, according to the town’s assessor’s office. 

The land is currently being used as farmland and is located within a half-mile of bonding manufacturer Scapa North America and Bucher Emhart Glass Manufacturing Inc.
 
Ferraina has been operating in Windsor for more than four decades, town records show. 

In 2001, Ferraina acquired the Huntington House Museum next door to Town Hall for $365,000 and restored the mansion. He later sold the museum to a developer who converted the museum into offices in 2006.