The next phase of an ambitious 400-plus apartment development in Bloomfield’s town center could break ground by early fall, pending final town approval and other factors, according to the project developer.
Paul Butler, the principal of 25 Jerome Avenue LLC, said he is seeking final site plan approval to build a $9-million, 42-unit apartment project on Bloomfield Avenue.
The development is part of Butler’s larger master plan to build 407 apartment units in three phases on Bloomfield and Jerome avenues and Jerome Way.
The first phase of the project — construction of the 215-unit Heirloom Flats luxury apartments — was wildly successful, having been fully leased within a year before being sold in early 2019 for $61 million to a New York investor.
In the next phase, Butler will be the project developer and he said he’s in talks with Chris Nelson of Simsbury-based Nelson Construction to be the general contractor.
Butler said this would be the largest project he’s ever developed and it will include six, two-bedroom units and the rest one-bedroom units targeted at Millennials, empty nesters and others.
They will all be market-rate rate apartments. Rents will vary depending on market conditions post construction, Butler said.Â
“This will be the largest project I’ve ever taken on,” said Butler, adding he moved from West Hartford to Bloomfield because he’s bullish about the town’s future.
Bloomfield’s planning and zoning commission will consider site plan approval for the 42 units at a meeting Thursday, Feb. 27. Once the town gives its blessing Butler said he’ll look for traditional bank financing and he expects several community lenders to be interested in the deal.
A fourth phase
Butler said he’s also working on moving forward the third phase of the project, which would include 129 market-rate apartments built on Jerome Avenue. He’s currently in talks to find a developer for that project.
Meantime, Butler is also eyeing a potential fourth phase. He said his development group recently bought eight additional homes on Bloomfield Avenue and he’d like to present a plan this summer to create a public dog park, walking trail and more apartments there, including potentially some affordable housing.
