Avon is gearing up to have a new pedestrian-friendly town center that will feature more commerce and housing options.
On Dec. 13, Ensign-Bickford Realty Corp. will go before the Planning & Zoning Commission with its master plan for mixed use development in Avon Park North. Of the 97 acres the company owns there, stretching from Route 10 to the intersection of Route 44 and Climax Road, about half has remained undeveloped pending adoption of new zoning regulations.
That was accomplished earlier this year when the commission approved a Village Center Zone allowing a combination of retail, residential, restaurant and office buildings.
“We’re not recreating West Hartford Center but want it to have the same feel, the energy,” Ensign-Bickford Realty President Andy DiFatta said.
Although the exact details of the plan are not yet available, the company has presented a general overview of the proposal, which calls for at least two new retail areas. The center zone includes restrictions on the size of buildings — 5,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet — so it is not geared for a big-box business, said Avon Director of Planning and Community Development Steve Kushner.
Retail shops and offices will be set close to the street, some with housing on the second floor, and parking will be tucked behind the buildings like a traditional downtown, he said. The plan also calls for apartment buildings.
“Adding more density will enhance economic development,” Kushner said.
A new center will be created behind the historic center, which is the intersection of Routes 44 and 10/202, by building a road between Route 10 and Climax Road that will run parallel to Route 44 and be a new main artery.
“It’s a terrific location; development could be very successful there,” said Simsbury resident R. Michael Goman, principal of Goman+York Property Advisors LLC.
Ensign-Bickford Realty’s designs emulate the company’s former brownstone factory buildings to complement the shops and offices already there and the town hall complex.
Once the master plan is approved, E-B Realty will be in a position to sell individual pieces of the property, which is being divided into nine development districts.
“We will sell so everything works together because, after all, we are the neighbor,” DiFatta said, referring to properties they will continue to own in Avon Park North.
As part of the Dec. 13 application, E-B Realty is requesting zone changes for nine separate parcels of land. That step is necessary because under the rules of the Village Center Zone, properties are not automatically included or changed as a result of the newly adopted regulations.
If the master plan and zone changes are approved by the beginning of 2012, E-B Realty can start selling property next year.
E-B Realty Vice President Gus Jasminski said that different markets have different times and the trend now is to build rental units that will draw a combination of empty nesters and young professionals.
Harry DerAsadourian, town assessor for Avon and Canton, said the impending expansion of the UConn Health Center in Farmington will boost the need for more housing. New apartments in Avon may be the solution.
“The new Avon center village will be a win for the entire Valley region,” he said. “I’m very optimistic about the Ensign-Bickford plan. It’s difficult to say what financial impact it would have but any growth is positive.”
