A New York-based development firm with numerous multifamily housing projects in the state is eyeing its next building in West Hartford.
Vessel Technologies this week will present to the West Hartford Design Review Advisory Committee an overview of a potential new land use application for a residential project at 29 Highland Ave.
Vessel has not yet submitted a formal land use application, and company executives plan to meet with committee board members for an informal “study session” on the potential project.
Vessel has prepared four possible design concepts, two featuring a five-story building and two featuring two, four-story-buildings.
For the two-building campus, which is on the agenda for Thursday’s DRAC meeting, one scenario would have 112 units, with 106 one-bedroom units and 139 parking spaces, and the second two-building option would have 120 units, with 114 one-bedrooms and 132 parking spaces.
The parcel sits near other West Hartford multifamily developments including the three-story, 85-unit Cooper Beach building at 15 Highland St.; a three-story, 73-unit building at 5 Highland St.; The Highlands three-story building at Highland Street and Farmington Avenue.
The property also abuts several single-family homes, to which Vessel would increase the setbacks for the rear yard, which is the most “sensitive” area of the property due to proximity to single-family homes, the project presentation reads.
If the project moves forward, Vessel would demolish an existing building, which was a former nursing home, on that site.
Vessel Executive Vice President Josh Levy said the company is looking forward to informally meeting with West Hartford’s Design Review Advisory Committee to get their input and advice.
“Once we receive their preliminary feedback, we will work on a formal application, which we anticipate submitting to the town later this fall,” he said.
The company uses a more streamlined approach to construction, with prefabricated panels, a more uniform design for each project, and green technology, offering “attainable” housing for much of the state’s workforce.
