🔒Farmington to hold public hearing Monday on 237-unit riverfront housing project

A proposal to build 237 housing units along the Farmington River will go before Farmington’s Town Plan and Zoning Commission at a public hearing Monday. National Land Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Minnesota-based Crown Equities LLC, is seeking a zone change and master plan approval for the Enclave at the Farmington River, a residential community planned for a roughly 80-acre property off Bridgewater Road and Farmington Avenue. The hearing begins at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall Annex Council Chambers, with online participation available. The development would include 79 owner-occupied single-family homes along the riverfront and 158 townhomes, some with first-floor master suites targeted to seniors. According to site plans, 30 of the townhomes would be for sale and 128 would be rentals. The project site combines three parcels, the largest being 1179 Farmington Ave., a 48.5-acre former sand-and-gravel quarry now used for equipment storage and material processing by Plainville-based Mizzy Construction. The other two parcels, at 2 and 3 Bridgewater Road, are owned by Waterside Ten LLC, a company controlled by PKT Development President Peter Fishman. The applicant is asking the commission to amend the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development, revise the Mid-Point Development District regulations and rezone the parcels from their current business restricted, senior/active adult, residential and earth excavation designations to the Mid-Point district, which allows mixed-use residences. If the master plan is approved, a detailed site plan application would follow. Attorney Robert Reeve of Unionville-based Scully, Nicksa & Reeve, who filed the application in April, wrote that the project responds to strong demand in Farmington for more diverse housing types amid demographic shifts away from large single-family homes. He said the dormant quarry parcel would be "rehabilitated to a productive and aesthetically pleasing use." Planned amenities include a clubhouse, riverside gazebos, kayak and canoe storage, picnic areas and walking trails that would allow a future connection to the Farmington River Canal Trail. Interior roads would link Bridgewater Road with Central Way and Melrose Drive, a connection the town has long sought to improve traffic circulation near Route 4. All construction would be set back at least 100 feet from the river, and a portion of the site would be conveyed to the town or preserved through a conservation easement. A fiscal impact study prepared by Goman+York Property Advisors estimates the development would generate about $2.54 million in combined annual revenue for the town against $895,459 in expenditures, for a net annual benefit of roughly $1.65 million. The developers would also pay an estimated $1.1 million in one-time permitting and development fees. The project, estimated to cost about $225 million, was first reviewed informally by the zoning commission in June 2025.