As the first phase of Windsor’s sprawling mixed-use Great Pond development nears completion this fall, developers are eyeing some major changes to the project in the coming years.
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As the first phase of Windsor’s sprawling mixed-use Great Pond development nears completion this fall, developers are eyeing some major changes to the project in the coming years.
The town’s planning and zoning commission recently approved numerous changes to Great Pond’s land development regulations that developers and local economic development officials say will lower residential density, and add mixed housing options and open space at the 670-acre property, among other adjustments.
Linda Costanzo, a senior asset manager for Great Pond’s horizontal developer, Winstanley Enterprises LLC, said changes made to the development blueprint aim to meet both current real estate market conditions and the site’s suburban location amidst a largely industrial/distribution/office area encompassing Day Hill Road and Great Pond Drive.
Revised plans call for less office and research and development space, and the addition of a 200-unit retirement community, 300-room hotel, medical-office space, and a mixed-use village centered around Great Pond and a public park. Winstanley will also dedicate about half of the site to open space.
A greater emphasis on suburban-style housing supports a demand shift that’s been seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, Costanzo said. It also gives Winstanley more flexibility to attract developers to the site, and market certain parcels for sale for future development.
“Post-COVID we are finding people want to be outdoors more,” Costanzo said. “We think Great Pond positions itself to do that with location and ability to provide walking trails for the development.”
Apartments near completion
The changes come as Fairfield residential developer Eastpointe LLC, which is handling the first, $45-million residential buildout at The Preserve at Great Pond, is slated to debut the final two of eight apartment buildings this fall. Roughly 130 of the 182 units, or about 71%, have been leased at the first six apartment buildings, according to Eastpointe co-owner Bill Finger. Construction started there in Nov. 2018.
The final two, 24-unit buildings are expected to debut in the next month or so, he added.
Apartments are being leased quickly, Finger said, as residents have been eager to use many outdoor amenities on-site, including walking trails, a swimming pool, fire pit, bocce court, pizza oven and grilling stations.
Finger said his group fully supports Winstanley’s new ideas for the overall development.
According to revised conceptual plans for Great Pond’s second phase, which have been in the works for more than a decade, Winstanley is still planning to build another 1,000-plus living units in the coming years. But recent changes will allow it to develop a greater variety of either townhome or single-family units as opposed to just apartment buildings.
New plans also call for double the amount of retail space, from 40,000 square feet to 84,000 square feet, and a major reduction in space for office, lodging, community and research and development companies that are being lured to the property. The targeted amount of industrial/warehouse space has increased from 1 million square feet to about 1.4 million square feet.
Other changes include conserving more open space (330 acres in total) and building an observation tower in the more than four miles of walking trails.
Changes to original approvals that date back to 2006 will reduce daily traffic at the property by about 60%, according to data provided by Winstanley.
Costanzo declined to comment on how much Winstanley plans to invest in future developments, which she says will take several years to be completed.
“At the end of the day, our vision for Great Pond is that we want to create a vibrant, walkable, mixed-use village center, where Great Pond is the central anchor working off the theme of outdoor activities,” Costanzo said.
The new plans for Great Pond are drastically different compared to what was originally envisioned. In 2012, developers wanted to build more than 4,000 single-family homes, 85,000 square feet of retail space and some 640,000 square feet of office space.
However, several developers that tried to takeover the site over the years were unable to pull together enough financing for development, town officials have said.
With recent approval from the town, Winstanley is hoping to collaborate with an “array” of developers interested in its latest Great Pond vision.
“This is a phenomenal opportunity for the town,” Constanzo said.
Joe Cooper is HBJ’s web editor and real estate writer. He pens “The Real Deal” column about commercial real estate.
