The River Walk—

Planned Condo Complex Receives Sewer Approval

By Andrew Gorosko

The Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) has approved connecting the planned 24-unit River Walk condominium complex on Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center to the municipal sanitary sewer system.

WSA members approved providing the sewer connections following an April 16 public hearing.

Twenty-two planned new units in the complex would need to be connected to the sewer system. Two existing houses on the site, which will serve as condos, already have sewer connections.

WSA members set the sewer connection fee for each new unit at $11,000.

Gaining sewer connections for the complex was the last local approval that developer/builder Michael Burton required for the complex, where a third of the units will be designated as “affordable housing.”

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said that the site’s location in the environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD) resulted in the WSA opting to allow the complex to connect to the sewer system, rather than having its wastewater discharged into septic systems.

The planned condo complex meets applicable zoning regulations and does not require a change of zone for its construction, Mr Hurley noted.

Mr Burton said April 22 that having received all required local approvals for the condo complex, he will now need to arrange construction financing for the project. He said he hopes to start building the complex within six months.

“I’m glad to have all the approvals in place and I look forward to starting the project,” he said.

In January, Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously approved the River Walk complex for a level, sandy 10.2-acre site at 12 through 20-A Washington Avenue.

Eight of the 24 condo units would be designated as “affordable housing” and be sold to owners or rented to tenants at prices significantly lower than the 16 “market rate” units. Twelve of the units would be for sale, with the other 12 units for rent.

To simplify River Walk residents’ access to the Sandy Hook Center business district, plans call for construction of a footbridge across the Pootatuck River that would link the condo site to the business area near 102 Church Hill Road.