The First Cathedral of Bloomfield has submitted a formal master plan for a 146-unit housing development on its 40.5-acre property, marking the next step in a project first presented to town officials in August.
Bloomfield’s Town Plan & Zoning Commission is set to hold a public hearing on a zoning map change to facilitate the project at its meeting that starts at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The application seeks to rezone the property at 1151 Blue Hills Ave., from its current split Professional Office and R-15 residential zones to Design Development Zone II.
BSC Group, on behalf of the church and development partner Grow America, submitted the formal plan, which mirrors what was outlined during an Aug. 28 preapplication presentation, but includes additional details about phasing, parking and lot subdivisions.
The development would unfold in four phases, all targeting underutilized portions of the 40-acre church property:
- Phase 1 calls for three five-story buildings with 101 affordable housing units on the site of a former 552-space auxiliary parking lot. All units would serve households earning 30% to 50% of area median income.
- Phase 2 would add a fourth five-story building with 45 residential units and a 90-child daycare center. Unlike the first phase, the second phase would include “a mix of affordable housing and market rate housing, depending on the available funding,” according to the filing.
- Phase 3 would add a two-story employment training and counseling center to the cathedral building’s southeast side, along with sidewalk connections to Blue Hills Avenue.
- Phase 4 would replace athletic fields with a storage facility for church equipment and a 138-space auxiliary parking lot on the property’s southwest corner.
The formal plan addresses parking concerns raised by commissioners during the August presentation. The new filing shows 252 parking spaces for the first two phases — one more than the 251 initially proposed. It notes that visitors could use spaces in the main cathedral lot during off-peak times.
The church’s 3,400-seat sanctuary requires 1,134 parking spaces under town regulations. With 778 spaces remaining in the main lot after the auxiliary lot’s removal, the church would face a 356-space deficit. Adding 138 spaces in phase 4 would reduce that deficit to 218 spaces.
Church officials told planners they’ve observed only one-quarter to one-third of the auxiliary lot ever being full — between 130 and 180 vehicles — suggesting overflow parking on the athletic fields could accommodate demand.
The formal application also includes details about subdividing the property into two lots and creating subordinate parcels within the residential lot to meet affordable housing funding requirements.
The property contains about 18.7 acres of wetlands, which would not be disturbed.
The project requires approval of the zoning map amendment before individual site plans can proceed. A traffic study is underway, and the developer said it is working with the state Department of Transportation on roadway improvements.
The First Cathedral, formerly known as the First Baptist Church of Hartford, has occupied the Bloomfield property since 1999.