Rental unit plan riles neighbors of Waterford site
Former nursing home has generated controversy with previous proposals
Waterford — A developer’s plan to turn a long-vacant former nursing home into a 53-unit rental community on Rope Ferry Road has frustrated residents over its potential impact on traffic and the neighborhood.
A limited liability company managed by Claudio Marasco, executive vice president of Water’s Edge in Westbrook, plans to renovate 171 Rope Ferry Road into studio and efficiency apartments. Thirty percent of the units would be moderate-income housing, which the developer describes as a much-needed market in Waterford.
But residents overwhelmingly voiced opposition to the plan at this week’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, saying the developer underestimates traffic the development could produce, and questioning whether it was the best fit for the neighborhood, as opposed to family homes or a new medical facility.
Resident David Peabody said he hoped the developer could bring a successful business to the location but argued the rental complex was the “wrong use of the property. The residents lose while you win.”
Rope Ferry Road resident Thomas Collier argued traffic in and out of the site would create safety concerns in an area where speeding enforcement already is lax.
“It’s called the Autobahn of Waterford,” Collier said of Rope Ferry Road.
Scott Hesketh, a traffic engineer hired by the developer, described the traffic increase compared to what the former nursing home produced as minor. He said the rental building would generate about 445 daily trips, with approximately 30 during the peak morning hours.
Based on a December 2014 state Department of Transportation analysis — adjusted with 2 percent increases every two years — Hesketh said Rope Ferry Road sees an average of 7,700 vehicles daily.
“It’s our professional opinion that the traffic associated with this proposed development will not constitute a hazard to the traveling public,” Hesketh said.
But Allan Taylor and several other nearby residents noted the developer examined winter traffic data as opposed to statistics during the busier summer.
Tim Hollister, a Shipman & Goodwin attorney representing the developer, said his client fronted $3,700 for the town to conduct a traffic and stormwater engineering review that’s already in the works.
‘Not Section 8 housing’
Formerly the Center for Optimum Care, the 1940 building and grounds have deteriorated since becoming vacant in 2011.
The developer’s plans call for substantial interior overhauls, new landscaping and improved stormwater management. The property is assessed at $1.4 million.
Prior to the building’s purchase by the Marasco-managed Rope Ferry Road LLC in 2013, the commission denied the Stonington Institute’s request to convert it to a residence for recovering substance abuse patients.
The commission partially approved a previous Rope Ferry LLC plan to renovate the site into a senior housing facility, but the project stalled over parking constraints in 2015. The developer since has purchased an adjacent property on Spithead Road, allowing for added parking to meet the town’s requirements.
The newly proposed units, all less than 600 square feet, would range in price between $800 and $1,100 per month for market-rate tenants. Sixteen units would be restricted to moderate-income tenants; those earning 80 percent or less of the state or area median income would pay $873, while tenants earning 60 percent or less of the state or median income would pay $707. Utilities are included in all units.
“There is a significant need for cost-efficient, smaller units in and around Waterford,” Andrea Gomes of Shipman & Goodwin said. “There are only 14 residential rentals in Waterford, and no studios or units 600 square feet or under.”
The developer seeks a zoning change to designate the site a Housing Opportunity District that would boost the town’s percentage of affordable housing, which town officials say is currently less than 5 percent.
But residents asserted that some tenants would include families of three or more, or would let friends or family with vehicles stay for extended periods of time.
On Wednesday, Marasco deferred questions about residents’ concerns to Hollister.
“I want to make it absolutely clear: This is not Section 8 housing,” Hollister said earlier this week. “There is no government subsidy involved in this proposal. There is none proposed and there will be none when it’s on the ground.”
On Wednesday, Hollister added, “Given that it is a one-story former nursing home, multi-family is the only logical use. Anything else would require demolition and starting with a blank slate, which was considered but rejected as not feasible.”
Hollister said his team would submit a revised application, taking into account comments from residents and commissioners, by Jan. 31.
The commission continued the public hearing and will meet again Feb. 12.