Branford’s Parkside Village tenants to get new apartments

BRANFORD — When construction is done in February, Parkside Village I apartment complex will not only get a brand new three-story building, but will have a new name, Shoreline Grove Apartments, property management officials say.

The decade-long wait will be over soon for tenants to move into the new $30.4 million, 67-unit affordable housing project on South Montowese Street.

“It’s like a totally new community now, a new building, new residents, new program,” said Emily Bouton, senior development director for Beacon Properties, which manages the project.

“And we also wanted to distinguish it from Parkside II,” she explained. “We thought this would offer a fresh start.”

The development will be a “huge improvement for the residents,” Bouton said, noting there are new amenities.

On the ground floor will be a community room, fitness area, computer room and a private medical exam room for vaccines and consultations. Outside, there will be an area for a community garden.

Inside, with new cabinetry and flooring, Bouton said, “It looks really pretty — I’m excited about it.”

The units range from 675 square feet for one-bedroom apartments to 880 square feet for two bedrooms.

Construction of the building is expected to be completed in early February, and Beacon plans to have it move-in ready by the end of the month or early March, Bouton said.

There will be a 30-day movein phase for existing tenants, according to Branford Housing Authority officials.

The new structure is replacing three outdated buildings at the original 50-unit Parkside South that served older adults and those with disabilities.

But for new tenants, there will be no age or disability requirements, only income restrictions, Bouton said. About 90 percent of the new units, 60, will target income-qualified households making less than 60 percent of the area median income. Seven will be rented at market rate.

Kate Collins of the Branford Housing Authority estimates that some 30 previous tenants will move into the new and improved facility.

“I am so relieved the safety and comfort of these residents is going to be guaranteed,” Collins said about the new complex. She noted the old structures are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The building is beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Better than my expectations,” Collins said.

Bouton said this is a unique project because tenants had been living on the site in the existing buildings during construction.

Once the tenants are relocated into the new building, the two empty buildings will be razed, which frees up the rest of the site for work, Bouton said.

Site work will continue on the parking lot and sidewalk area, and stormwater drainage and landscaping will be completed in July, she said.

“It will be weird because people will be living in the building but the site’s still under construction,” Bouton said.

While many tenants are happy to move into new digs, for some it’s a big change “because so many of them have lived in these buildings for years and years,” Bouton said.

“So, it’s obviously a little nerve-wracking, I think, for some of them,” she added.

“But overall, they seem really excited, and I think once when they see the final building and see their new apartment home, they’re going to be thrilled, I hope,” she said.

Dave D’Amelio, former tenant commissioner on the housing authority and treasurer of Parkside I Tenant Council, said this has been a long wait and is eager for the move.

“I’m very happy,” he said, noting he was there for the crucial vote on getting this project approved.

D’Amelio sat on the housing authority as a tenant’s representative and helped “swing that vote to make sure they voted this in,” he said.

“I went to all the meetings at the firehouse,” he recalled.

“They’re going to give us a brand-new facility, a brand new, state-of-the-art apartment with all the modern conveniences and an extra bedroom which most of us didn’t have now,” he said.

D’Amelio is also a more recent resident than his neighbors.

“I didn’t realize it when I moved in five years ago, they were going to do this. I figured it was the last move I was going to make,” D’Amelio said with a laugh.

But not all the tenants are so eager to move, he said.

“They’ve been there for a long time — 10 or 15 years. We had to convince them and explain,” he said. “That was the hard part.”

D’Amelio told them, “’This is going to be much better once it’s done. You won’t have any problems with faucets or the furnace or leaky walls or anything,’” he recalled.

The original Parkside Village was clearly outdated, he said. “It’s getting old, things fall apart. The concrete ceiling by the walkway was crumbling. There always having a problem with the water — something’s always backing up.”

There was a lack of “basic maintenance,” he said, because officials were waiting on approval for a new building.

“I think because of the negotiations over all these years, they let a lot of it go. So instead of actually fixing a problem, they band-aided it,” D’Amelio said.

“I’m very happy where I am. This is going to be even better for me,” he said noting that he is being upgraded from an efficiency apartment to a one-bedroom unit.

“It’s going to be very, very nice,” he said.

Collins echoed this. “Everybody is happy. This is really working out beautifully. The residents are happy, the board is happy, and we are really looking forward to move in.”