Developer seeks sixth floor, 30 more apartments for Derby project

DERBY — A planned apartment building at the former Lifetouch studio on Main Street may end up larger than expected.

The developer for the Trolley Pointe project in Derby recently submitted a revised project plan for the site of the former school photography business at 90 Main St. The project originally included 70 market rate apartments in a fivestory building. But codeveloper Joe Salemme said increased construction costs have led to a revised plan that includes more units to offset costs.

The new plans call for a six-story building with 105 apartments, according to the city’s zoning enforcement officer. It will now include 39 one-bedroom units, 62 studios and four 2-bedroom units according to the application sent to the planning and zoning commission on Nov. 11.

Salemme said increasing prices for building materials were a factor in revising the plan.

“Lumber almost went up 500 percent since COVID. Why exactly, I don’t know. But the whole building industry suffered from sharp increases in not only lumber, but other building materials,” Salemme said.

Salemme said he expected the project to cost about $15 million, but that number could increase due to construction costs. More apartments would offset the higher building costs, he said.

The apartments have been in the works for more than a year.

The original 70-unit plan was announced to the board in September 2020. The site had previously been considered for redevelopment as a manufacturing center.

According to Salemme, the complex will have a contemporary design. The apartments would be about 500 feet from the DerbyShelton Metro-North train station and just a few hundred feet from the Route 8 entrance ramps.