A New York-based developer is proposing a 244-unit, mixed-use project in Newington anchored by a pedestrian town square, an indoor-outdoor theater and a landscaped public garden.
The Town Square and Garden development, planned for the 6.85-acre former Keeney Manufacturing Co. site at 1170 Main St., would include 244 apartments across eight buildings.
In addition, it would have 47,750 square feet of ground-floor retail, a 21,500-square-foot performing arts theater and 20,000 square feet of resident-amenity space, according to concept plans filed with the town.
The applicant is Manhattan-based 1170 Main Street Owner LLC, led by developer Roy Stillman of Stillman Development. The project designer is New York firm Spivak Architects.
The Town Plan and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a pre-application discussion at its next meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Town Hall.
The proposal shows retail uses lining the ground floors of three brick buildings that frame the square, with apartments stacked on the upper floors above shops and restaurants. A second, smaller plaza behind those buildings would open onto the theater and a tree-shaded garden, which would be surrounded by five Colonial-style residential buildings.
Renderings depict red-brick, warehouse-style facades around the square and clapboard, gambrel-roofed residences fronting Lowrey Place.
There are 658 parking spaces across two underground garages, both which would be accessed from Lowrey Place. The plans also call for rebuilding Lowrey Place, narrowing the existing roadway to two 12-foot driving lanes and adding a sidewalk, planting strips and a multi-use trail along the development’s southern edge.
In a letter to Town Planner Paul Dickson, architect Howard Spivak said the design draws on the town center’s existing pedestrian character and historic architectural mix, with the plaza-facing structures modeled on New England industrial and commercial buildings.
The property sits within Newington’s Town Center Village Overlay District, which is designed to encourage walkable, mixed-use redevelopment in the central business area.
The proposal would replace the Keeney Manufacturing complex, a trio of industrial buildings spanning 109,200 square feet. Keeney produced residential plumbing and heating fittings at the property from 1925 until it closed in 2019. Town land records show the parcel was sold for $3.13 million in December 2021 to Omni Broussard Two LLC, which renamed itself 1170 Main Street Owner LLC in late 2025.
The commission’s discussion with the developer on Wednesday will be informal and non-binding. The developer would still need to file a formal site plan application before the project could move forward.
