PZC OKs Carroll’s site plan

SHELTON — The vacant Carroll’s Home Improvement Centre on Howe Avenue soon will get a new lease on life, after the Planning & Zoning Commission gave unanimous approval to plans to build a housing and retail complex at the site.

The action came at the PZC’s Sept. 25 meeting, and the new development will be known as Cedar Village. The development will consist of 33 studio and onebedroom apartments, a handful of retail stores and parking for residents and shoppers. The existing Lshaped building will be incorporated into the new structure, which will be four stories high.

In granting its approval, the commission attached a number of stipulations.

For starters, the original plan called for additional curb cuts and a midblock crosswalk on Howe Avenue, which was vetoed by the city engineering department. In granting its approval, the commission directed its developers — Cedar Village Development LLC — to “fully satisfy any concerns of the engineering department, the fire marshal and the Connecticut Department of Transportation.”

Moreover, the final architectural drawings and signage plans will require city approval. In addition, any areas on the property that are found to be “disturbed” by the construction process will need to be rectified to the commission’s satisfaction.

This was just the first phase of the planned development at the site; a second phase of the development will add more apartments, but the exact number is yet to be determined. At a public hearing in July, city residents raised concerns about overdevelopment at the site — which sent phase two back to the drawing board. Carroll’s went out of business in April 2014 after 60 years at the site.

A rendering of the proposed Bridge Street Commons at 427 Howe Avenue.