A prominent developer has proposed building a 157-unit apartment development in Westport on a Riverside Avenue property tied to a previously rejected mixed-use project.
Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners said in a pre-application filing that the project would be built on a 1.5-acre parcel at 606 Riverside Ave. and include a “complementary mixed-use component” and 18 affordable housing units.
The development would rise 3.5 stories along Riverside Avenue, while portions stepped back from the street would be taller, according to the filing. Plans call for two levels of screened parking with 283 spaces.
According to traffic engineer AKRF, the proposed development would generate significantly fewer vehicle trips than prior proposals submitted for the site. The plan also includes environmental remediation work, along with pedestrian and right-of-way improvements.
In mid-March, Spinnaker purchased two parcels associated with the former Hamlet at Saugatuck development site, property records show. The company paid $12.8 million for the 1.5-acre property at 606 Riverside Ave., which contains commercial buildings, and $3.25 million for a nearby 0.37-acre parking lot parcel at 96 Franklin St.
Spinnaker plans to use the Franklin Street property as a construction staging area.
The developer plans to present the proposal to the town’s Architectural Review Board later this month, according to the filing.
Spinnaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The proposal follows the collapse of a prior redevelopment effort for the site led by Roan Ventures. Last July, Westport’s Planning and Zoning Commission denied Roan’s application for the Hamlet at Saugatuck, a five-building, five-story mixed-use development featuring 57 hotel rooms and 57 apartments on 3.38 acres.
Roan later returned with a revised proposal for a 7.5-story apartment complex with up to 500 units and sued the commission over the denial of the original project. The developer reportedly withdrew the lawsuit in February, ending its redevelopment plans for the site.
