A plan by a development firm co-led by a former New England Patriots linebacker to build a five-story, 90-unit apartment building in Fairfield has been given the green light.
Fairfield’s Planning and Zoning Commission has approved the plan by a vote of 6-1.
Skala Partners proposed in July to construct the five-story apartment building with 4,313 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, at 730 Commerce Drive, after razing a restaurant and office building on the 1.4-acre parcel, according to plans filed with the town. The property is home to an 11,042-square-foot Champion Maintenance & Construction office building, at 730 Commerce Drive, and a 4,090-square-foot Rio Bravo Tacos & Tequila restaurant, at 770 Commerce Drive.
Skala acquired the building at 730 Commerce Drive for $1.6 million in October 2016, and added the building at 770 Commerce Drive last November for $2.45 million.
Skala Partners was co-founded by brothers Aristides Koutouvides and Niko Koutouvides. Niko Koutouvides is a former linebacker for the New England Patriots who also played for a few other National Football League teams.
This will be the firm’s third multifamily development near the Fairfield-Black Rock train station in an area designated for transit-oriented, mixed-use development. In 2017, it completed Trademark Fairfield, a five-story, 101-unit apartment building with almost 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, at 665 Commerce Drive. Four years later, it finished Alto Fairfield, a five-story, 160-unit multifamily development, at 1401 Kings Highway, featuring nearly 13,000 square feet of retail space.
