Stonington approves next phases for Perkins Farm

Mystic — The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday approved phases two and three of the Perkins Farm development, which is projected to become the most expensive project in the town’s history.

The commission approved plans by developer David Lattizori for 50 townhouse condominiums and a 47,625-squarefoot, three-story medical office building that will be built by Hartford Healthcare.

The commission had previously approved a 121-unit apartment complex, which is now under construction on the 70-acre site off Jerry Browne Road across from the StoneRidge retirement community.

The project’s master plan calls for a total of 100,000 square feet of medical and research space in phase three and Lattizori has said that another medical building is a possibility for the site. Phase three is expected to create hundreds of permanent, well-paying jobs.

Lattizori’s family had tried for almost 20 years to develop the site for a mix of commercial and residential use but those projects were successfully opposed by residents. In 2011, the commission approved a 36-lot subdivision of single-family homes for the site.

Lattizori said he was a week away from selling the site and its approval in 2015 when a retired doctor, who lives at StoneRidge, suggested the idea of a project with a geriatric health component. Lattizori then began meeting with a committee of StoneRidge residents to discuss the project with them and gain their support.

Lattizori then put together plans for the current project which has been met with widespread support in part because it preserves more than half the site for open space.

Earlier this year, residents approved $1.3 million in tax breaks over seven years for phase one, which Lattizori said would help offset some of the large infrastructure and other upfront costs he has expended over the past several years and pave the way for the second and third phases.