Construction begins on apartments at Westfield Trumbull mall

Construction is expected to take 18 months, according to Economic and Community Development Director Rina Bakalar. The five apartment buildings in the complex will be four stories tall and will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units.

TRUMBULL — Standing in a dirt field strewn with construction equipment, developer Scott Loventhal si already picturing a bustling residential community rising between Westfield Trumbull mall and Main Street.

“We certainly are confident that this development will be a success,” he said.

Loventhal, a partner at Garden Communities, was at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Residences at Main, at 5085 Main St., on Friday morning.

The 260-unit luxury apartment complex is located between the Merritt Parkway and the mall, about 500 feet from each.

The developers are Garden Homes Development and Rose Equities.

First Selectwoman Vicki Tesoro said the apartments are just the beginning of a major development project.

“The planning study that we will be engaging in, we will transform this entire area,” she said. “We know this is a catalyst to that development.”

The $60 million project was approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission in 2020. Construction is expected to take 18 months, according to Economic and Community Development Director Rina Bakalar. The five apartment buildings in the complex will be four stories tall and will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units.

Leonard Glickman, who is the co-founder of Rose Equities, said the apartments would cater to what he calls, “renters by choice” instead of need. Glickman said the perception that renters are people who can’t afford to buy a house leaves out a lot of nuance. Some renters prefer to live in units with amenities nearby, he said.

Young professionals, untethered from their desks as a result of advancements in telecommunications, are no longer limited by location, he said.

“The creative classes, the young people who are making $150-$160,000, they can go anywhere, as we know. They can work almost anywhere right?” he said. “So they choose to live somewhere, not because they need to.”

That somewhere he said, is Trumbull. The location is convenient to shopping and highways. The complex will also include garages, storage rooms, a clubhouse, an outdoor pool, co-working space and a community room,” he said.

Bakalar said the developer also is committed to maintaining a permanent presence in the town.

“They want to become members of the community, because they’re going to own for generations,” she said. “They’re not building this to sell it off to somebody else.”