Affordable housing proposed in New Canaan

NEW CANAAN — In the midst of an ongoing town discussion on affordable housing, developer Arnold Karp confirmed Tuesday that he has submitted an application to the town for a 20-unit multifamily project on 51 Main Street.

The development would call for six affordable housing units at the plot of the yellow building on .34 acres built in 1889 — known as the Red Cross building — which is to be moved closer to the street to make room for the 11 two-bedroom apartments and nine one-bedroom apartments proposed behind it.

Owned and operated by the Red Cross since 1952, the organization sold the building to Karp in 2017. He already has another application under State General Statute 8-30g for a 102-unit project on Weed Street.

Karp has been vocal about his support of affordable housing and has called it “not just a local or state issue,” but a national issue.

Sitting in the historic district, the front portion of the 2,600 square-foot antique building would be preserved, according to Karp. Once the project two doors north of Town Hall is completed, the view from the road “would look like the same street scape as is there currently,” Karp said. He is expected to file a separate application with the Historic District Commission.

More than two-thirds of the footprint would be preserved, or 936 square feet of the 1,277 square foot total, according to the plans disclosed by Karp. The remaining 341 square feet in the rear would be removed to make room for the multifamily units.

The new building would have four stories, with three stories on top of a grade-level parking garage. The one-bedroom apartments are anticipated to range in size from 738 to 920 square feet and the two-bedroom apartments are expected to be 989 to 1,652 square feet. The plan provides for 33 parking spaces.