A developer plans to buy a nearly 3-acre parcel on Norwalk’s Water Street and construct a 59-unit, three-building, mixed-use development that will offer 59 apartments, office space, a restaurant, boat slips and personal service establishments.
It will also provide public access to the waterfront along Norwalk River, according to an application filed with the city.
Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, doing business as Spinnaker Acquisitions LLC, is under contract to buy the 2.72-acre property, the site of a closed marina at 108 Water St., from 108 Water Street South Norwalk LLC, which is controlled by West Hartford attorney Eliot Gersten’s Freedom Capitol LLC.
“While the existing site provides no public access to the waterfront, the redevelopment proposes a publicly accessible and inviting landscaped park and boardwalk along the Norwalk Harbor,” the application states. “The applicant hopes this public access will serve as a catalyst for a continued public walkway along the harbor for connectivity and greater access to the waterfront for Norwalk’s residents.”
“This application proposes the conversion of a private, exclusive, primarily non-water dependent use site to a tremendous asset available for all of Norwalk to enjoy, at no cost to the city.”
The application says that the proposal, which includes over an acre of “public realm space,” is “as of right,” meaning that it adheres to the city’s zoning regulations for that area.
The five-story, 59-unit apartment building would house 25 one-bedroom, 17 two-bedroom, 13 three-bedroom, and four four-bedroom units. Two, two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit will be deemed affordable housing through the city’s workforce housing regulation.
The project also includes two commercial office buildings containing a total of about 83,000 square feet and standing 4.5 stories tall, a ground-floor restaurant and 249 parking spaces.
“Due to the mixed-use nature of the development, it is the applicant’s hope that many of the office and other employees working within the new development will also reside at the property, which also has the benefit of reduced traffic congestion,” the application states.