Farmington’s Town Plan and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing next week on Metro Realty Management Corp.’s proposal to build a 62-unit apartment complex at 20 Scott Swamp Road — a project that would provide 14 housing units for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Metro Realty’s plan calls for five buildings containing 25 one-bedroom, 35 two-bedroom and two three-bedroom apartments, with 90 parking spaces — about 1.4 spaces per unit.
The development would be accessed via an existing driveway on Scott Swamp Road, near the intersection with Route 6.
The town has received seven letters urging the commission to approve the development, describing it as “Favarh Supportive Housing.”
Favarh provides support to residents in similar housing at 80 South Road in Farmington, which was also developed and managed by Metro Realty, along with Old Farms Crossing in Avon.
“The Scott Swamp Road project will give other families the same gift that we have been given,” wrote Jane and David Fernald in a Jan. 10 letter to the town. Their son, who has Down syndrome, lives in a Favarh-supported apartment in Avon.
Favarh’s supportive housing model provides adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to live in their own apartments while receiving assistance with daily tasks, transportation, medication management and life skills development, the letters state.
Residents maintain employment, manage their own schedules and develop relationships with neighbors both with and without disabilities, according to the letters.
The project will be Favarh’s seventh in Greater Hartford, and its third with Metro Realty.
The proposal involves three approvals: amending Farmington’s zoning regulations to create a new “Scott Swamp Road Opportunity Zone,” rezoning the 5.5-acre property at 20 Scott Swamp Road from business restricted to the new zone, and site-plan approval for the development.
Metro Realty plans to seek financing from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority or through federal low-income housing tax credits. The project qualifies as affordable housing under Connecticut’s 8-30g statute.
Metro Realty is under contract to purchase the site. The property contains a building that previously housed a nursing home, which would be demolished.
According to the application, Metro Realty has used similar site-specific zoning approaches for multifamily developments at 80 South Road and 1600 New Britain Ave., in Farmington.
If the project is approved, construction will be completed in 2028, the application states.
The public hearing is scheduled for the commission’s Jan. 26 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.
Metro Realty owns and manages more than 30 properties, including multifamily, medical office, industrial and traditional office space, according to its website.
