The Norwalk Hour

Spinnaker proposes new SoNo apartment complex

- By Richard Chumney

NORWALK — Another new apartment complex may soon be coming to South Norwalk as part of a proposed redevelopm­ent project that would also bring space for new shops and offices.

The Norwalk-based Spinnaker Real Estate Partners filed a special permit applicatio­n this month to build a new six-story structure and renovate a pair of existing buildings on Monroe Street.

Spinnaker “proposed to consolidat­e and redevelop the properties as a multibuild­ing, mixed-use project that will include commercial office, retail, restaurant­s, residentia­l and off-street parking

uses,” developers wrote in the applicatio­n.

The proposed developmen­t at 10 Monroe St. would mark Spinnaker’s eighth project in the fastgrowin­g South Norwalk neighborho­od. Spinnaker is currently in the process of building a seperate sixstory apartment building at an adjacent property on Chestnut and Monroe streets.

“The proposed mixeduse, mixed-income developmen­t, which combines both the preservati­on of historic structures and new constructi­on, is a continuati­on of this team’s long term commitment to South Norwalk,” Matthew Edvardsen, Spinnaker’s director of asset management and acquisitio­ns, said in a statement Monday. “We believe the proposed plans respect and compliment the effort and vision the city has set forth for the neighborho­od. We look forward to beginning the dialogue with the city as well as our neighbors and other stakeholde­rs.”

The newly-proposed project would sit about a block away from the South Norwalk Train Station and across from the Norwalk Police Department headquarte­rs on the corner of Monroe and South Main streets.

The complex would feature 150 residentia­l units, including 15 apartments set aside for affordable housing, according to plans submitted to the city.

The vast majority of the building’s units would either be studio or onebedroom apartments. Developers plan to build 30 two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units.

The building would also include more than 3,100 square feet of ground-floor retail space on the South Main Street side, a twolevel parking garage with 153 spaces accessible from Monroe Street and a courtyard complete with a pool.

Two existing buildings on the site, a single-story structure at 8 Monroe St. and a three-story building at 18 Monroe St., would be retained and improved for commercial uses as a part of the project. Both buildings include a total of nearly 12,000 square feet of commercial space.

According to engineerin­g plans, developers intend to demolish seven other buildings located on the 1.46-acre site, including a handful of residentia­l buildings and a commercial building that currently sits at 10 Monroe St.

Steve Kleppin, Norwalk’s director of planning and zoning, said the zoning commission is expected to discuss the proposed developmen­t at an April 8 meeting.

Under city rules, the commission must hold a public hearing before voting on the applicatio­n.

Kleppin said a public hearing has not yet been scheduled.

 ?? Contribute­d photo ?? A rendering shows a proposed six-story apartment complex on Monroe Street in South Norwalk that would feature 150 residentia­l units.
Contribute­d photo A rendering shows a proposed six-story apartment complex on Monroe Street in South Norwalk that would feature 150 residentia­l units.

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