$4.59 Million Sale–—

Developer Buys 51-Acre Site For Condos; Construction To Start Soon

By Andrew Gorosko

A national developer has purchased a 51-acre site at 21 Oakview Road for $4.59 million, where it soon plans to construct a 54-unit age-restricted condominium complex.

In a real estate transaction recorded at the town clerk’s office on May 11, Toll CT II, Limited Partnership, of Newtown purchased the site from Watkins Brothers Development Corporation of New Milford. The sale price of the parcel translates into a rate of $90,000 per acre.

Toll Brothers, Inc, a Pennsylvania-based residential developer, which has local offices at 53 Church Hill Road, received Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approval in February to build the complex, known as Regency at Newtown.

Toll Brothers had held a purchase option to buy the site from Watkins Brothers. Toll Brothers paid a total of $34,425 in real estate conveyance taxes in the transaction.

Toll Brothers plans to build 54 luxury-grade condos for people over age 55 at the site near Newtown High School. The complex would have attached garage spaces for 108 vehicles. The project would be visible from the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84 and from Fairfield Hills.

The site is located in the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), an overlay zone within which there are many environmental protection restrictions due to its location above the Pootatuck Aquifer. The aquifer is the source of two local public water supplies. Toll Brothers spent two years seeking various approvals for the condo complex from town land use agencies.

A key aspect of construction project planning has involved protecting the nearby Pootatuck River from stormwater runoff contamination. A river section there is a state-regulated Wild Trout Management Area.

Dan Walton, Toll Brothers’ senior project manger for Regency at Newtown, said May 17 the firm plans to start site development work later this month. Initial occupancy of dwellings is targeted for March/April of 2007, he said.

The firm’s representatives were slated to meet with town officials at the site May 18 for a construction conference, Mr Walton said. The boundaries of the area to be cleared for construction will be set and erosion and sedimentation control devices will be installed before construction starts, Mr Walton said. The firm plans to be especially careful in protecting the environmental quality of the Pootatuck River, he said.

The basic condo to be constructed at Regency at Newtown will be priced at roughly $450,000, he said. More elaborate units will be priced higher. The firm will offer three different models.

Depending on market conditions, project construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months, Mr Walton said. The pace of construction will be dependant upon market conditions, he noted.

“We think it’s going to be a great product,” Mr Walton said, adding that there is good market demand for such residential construction in Newtown.

At a May 11 session, Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) members received copies of Toll Brothers’ site development plans for Regency at Newtown.

The development plans will be reviewed by appraisers working for the WSA. The appraisers will provide information to WSA members to be used in setting sewer connection fees for the planned condo units.

Toll Brothers plans to construct 11 residential buildings at the site, ten of which would contain five dwellings each, and one of which would hold four dwellings. Toll Brothers had initially proposed Regency at Newtown as an 80-unit complex in early 2004.

Toll Brothers will donate 13 acres of the 51-acre site to the town as public open space land for passive forms of recreation. The developer will provide a 25-foot-wide public access easement extending from Oakview Road to that open space area. The open space is situated along the Pootatuck River. Conservation easements also will be provided.

Oakview Road is a narrow, hilly, winding road about 3,500 feet long, which was a dirt road until several years ago. It was paved after the town installed sewers beneath the road to extend sewer service to the nearby high school.

The presence of sewers beneath Oakview Road makes possible a high-density development such as Regency at Newtown. Oakview Road links Wasserman Way to Berkshire Road.