The Bristol Planning Commission has received a proposal to convert a vacant medical office building and the property on which it sits to residential housing.
The application by Chippen’s Hill Office Park LLC, which is based in Middletown, seeks to convert the 3.28-acre property at 625 Clark Ave. from an industrial zone to a residential multifamily housing zone. The application is on the agenda for the commission’s meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m.
According to a narrative included with the application, the existing 6,092-square-foot building on the property had been used for medical offices but is now vacant after the medical practices in the building relocated to “the Pro Health building” on Farmington Avenue.
“This request is an adaptive reuse of the property for residential units within the existing building and also additional units to be built to the rear of the property,” the application states.
Because the application is for only a zone change, it does not include any site plan drawings for the proposed new building nor details on how many housing units the applicant intends to create on the property.
According to the narrative, the existing building is “no longer viable for an industrial use or the existing office use in the current market conditions.”
Industry observers say the industrial real estate market remains relatively strong, but demand for new space has cooled. Office properties, meanwhile, continue to lag statewide as tenants push for lower rents and larger fit-out concessions.
The Planning Commission is expected to schedule a public hearing on the application when it meets on Tuesday.
