Woodbridge’s Town Plan and Zoning Commission recently approved an over-55 housing development on 14.8 acres straddling Bradley Road.Called “Regency at Woodbridge,” the complex will be 70 carriage-style townhomes in groupings of three or four that will share connecting walls.The units have first-floor primary bedrooms, private two-car garages, and patios with an initial choice of several […]
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Woodbridge’s Town Plan and Zoning Commission recently approved an over-55 housing development on 14.8 acres straddling Bradley Road.
Called “Regency at Woodbridge,” the complex will be 70 carriage-style townhomes in groupings of three or four that will share connecting walls.
The units have first-floor primary bedrooms, private two-car garages, and patios with an initial choice of several floor designs. Each unit will contain between 2,000 to 2,600 square feet depending on whether they have cathedral ceilings or full second floors, said Kristine Sullivan, Woodbridge’s land-use analyst and acting zoning enforcement officer.
No basements or elevators are planned for the townhouses.
According to the developer, Pennsylvania-based Toll Brothers, the homes will be priced at market rate at the time they go up for sale.
Saying it was too early in the process to provide many details, James Fitzpatrick, Toll Brothers’ group president in Connecticut, noted: “Homeowners will enjoy low maintenance living with a clubhouse and pool in this active adult 55+ community. We look forward to opening for sale next year.”
Town leaders expressed support for the development, noting it will bring tax revenue to the town without placing additional burdens on the public school system.
First Selectwoman Beth Heller said officials are “very excited” to have an over-55 housing complex come to Bradley Road.
“In 2008, the land was approved for a development, but the economy sank, and the project never happened,” Heller said. “Now, the owner was working with Toll and got approval. This will help businesses; it will bring people to the Woodbridge Village District. Additionally, there’s no impact on the schools. The Beecher Road Elementary School is at capacity. I know the project will significantly help Woodbridge, and I’m excited it was approved unanimously.”
The development includes sidewalks and officials anticipate residents will walk to nearby businesses, such as a local deli or ice cream shop.
The town has been focused on attracting businesses and tax revenue.
Anthony Genovese, finance director and administrative officer for the town, said the Toll Brothers development will create stability, boost the tax base and is in keeping with the goals of the bipartisan Ad Hoc 2030 Task Force, whose members are working on ways to increase and diversify the grand list by the year 2030.
Chris Dickerson, owner of the Woodbridge Running Company, is co-chair of the task force. He lives and works in the business district and walks everywhere.
“To connect the business district with sidewalks is a big deal to me,” Dickerson said of the Toll Brothers project. “Hopefully it will bring more people into town to walk around rather than drive and park, drive and park, from one business to the next. It’s all about connectivity and making sure people can walk around in a safe manner.”
None of the development’s 70 units have been set aside as affordable, according to the developer.
Affordable housing dispute
The new development comes as Woodbridge is facing litigation that claims there isn’t enough affordable housing in the community.
The civil rights lawsuit claims the town’s zoning regulations restrict multifamily, affordable housing and therefore violate the state Constitution, Fair Housing Act and state zoning laws.
Open Communities Trust LLC (OCT) — an affordable housing development trust launched by civil rights nonprofit Open Communities Alliance (OCA) — is one of the parties that filed the suit against the town.
OCT is leasing and has an option to buy property in Woodbridge to build a multifamily, mixed-income and affordable housing development. The property owner, 2 Orchard Road LLC, is also a plaintiff.
In addition, two Woodbridge residents are plaintiffs and say they are harmed by the town’s lack of racial and economic diversity.
Erin Boggs, founding executive director of OCA, an organization that focuses on housing segregation, said in an announcement that Woodbridge zoning has “erected unjustifiable barriers preventing lower- and moderate-income families, who are disproportionately families of color, from moving to town.”
Heller, Woodbridge’s First Selectwoman, said the Board of Selectmen held a special meeting regarding the lawsuit and refutes its claims.
In a prepared statement she said, “The town will defend this case, and we fully expect to be successful. We are a diverse and wonderful community, which will be demonstrated at trial, and I am committed to contesting the claims made by the lawyers who brought this suit.”
She declined to answer further questions about affordable housing, citing the pending litigation.
