P&Z approves Slaiby Village affordable housing plan

TORRINGTON — An affordable housing project off Route 202 first approved in 2013 recently was reapproved by the Planning & Zoning Commission, with one of two buildings in the project designated for senior citizens.

A site plan for the new housing project, dubbed Slaiby Village, was presented by TO Design LLC and New Haven architect Paul Bailey, and was approved Oct. 15 by the commission. The project, which will be built on Tucker Drive off Koury Terrace, where an affordable housing complex already exists, will have two buildings, including one for senior citizens only.

The 92-unit project was first approved in 2013 and

According to the developer’s presentation, one of the buildings will have 40 units, and the other will have 52.

recently received approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission. The site is adjacent to Koury Terrace housing, which is overseen by the Torrington Housing Authority. Koury Terrace housing is located behind American Family Urgent Care at 1171 E. Main St.

The proposed Slaiby Village sits on the edge of 17 acres of wetlands, which will be protected and used for walking trails for residents living in the new development, according to the Oct. 15 presentation.

Housing Authority executive director Claudia Sweeney said the land is part of the housing authority’s property. “TO Design is someone we went out to bid with, and will be co-developing (the project) with,” Sweeney said. “It’s not part of the Michael Koury housing.

“I think it’s going to be absolutely beautiful,” Sweeney said, referring to the 17 acres of wetlands on the property. “If we hadn’t gone into this project, we wouldn’t have known that land was there, which is great. It’s unused property that’s been there for many years.”

According to the developer’s presentation, one of the buildings will have 40 units, and the other will have 52. The proposal adds 57 parking spaces to the site, including 10 handicap spaces. The developer is creating “a sustainable environment” around the buildings, leaving as much natural vegetation as possible, according to the meeting minutes.

The property will be screened with evergreen trees to give neighboring properties privacy, and surrounded by native plans and “erosion control mixes” of soil and screening to prevent runoff from the site, as well as a full stormwater management plan. Any trees removed from the site will be mulched and used in the erosion control plan, according to the minutes.

In its approval, the IWC called for walking paths through the site. “The tenants at Koury Terrace are looking forward to it,” Sweeney said. “It should be a nice addition.”

The next step for Slaiby Village, Sweeney said, is to obtain approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and then find financing.

“We’re working on both of those things,” she said.

Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Above, an artist’s rendering of a building for Slaiby Village, an affordable housing project recently approved by the Torrington Planning & Zoning Commission.