Building up Bethel’s downtown
Developer wants to erect 10 1-bedroom apartments near railroad station
BETHEL — A new plan to build 10 apartments calls for extending the downtown district to an area near the train station, where the town is encouraging more development.
Verdi Properties proposes knocking down a barn and 19th century house to build 10 onebedroom apartments at 80 South St.
The architectural style of the proposed development dates back
hundreds of years and is seen in Bethel and other towns, Developer Curt Verdi said.
“We’re proposing an architecturally correct building, which will seamlessly fit into the fabric of downtown,” he said at a Tuesday Planning and Zoning meeting. “We thoughtfully designed a traditional, colonial-style building which will certainly make for a much stronger and more interesting downtown Bethel.”
The applicants requested the property become part of the relatively new transitoriented development zone, which is the area within about a quarter-mile from the train station.
The property is 0.6 miles and a 12-minute walk from the train station and adjacent to the tracks, which has restaurants on the other side. It is across the street from a former mill building that is part of this TOD zone and has been approved for apartments and commercial space.
“As such, it is located in the area which has been the subject of study and recommendations for growth,” the developers said in their application.
New TOD regulations went into effect at the start of 2018 to create a more vibrant, pedestrian-friendly downtown and incentivize mixed-used buildings and high-density housing, including affordable housing. This proposal includes affordable units.
The property is in the RMO professional office zone, which borders the industrial zone and the TOD district, with the developers asking to be part of the village center zone and TOD overlay district.
Extending the TOD district had not been part of the vision when the town created the zone, said Beth Cavagna, town planner.
“It’s the first time it’s been considered,” she said.
But it may make sense in this case.
“You’re adding more residential units to the downtown area,” Cavagna said. “You’re adding more affordable housing units in the downtown area, so I do believe there is some logic behind it.”
The Bethel Forward plan , which outlines the town’s vision, encourages redeveloping property in that area to create more “aesthetically pleasing” commercial or residential development, she said.
The house that would be demolished was built sometime between 1858 and 1867 and is presumed to have been first owned by a Bethel hat manufacturer, according to a report from Pat Wild, the town historian.
“Although it is regrettable to lose any structure that has been part of the town landscape for so long a time, there seems to be no evidence that anything of significant historic importance is associated with this building,” he wrote.
The design of the building would pay tribute to the property’s history, said Peter Olson, attorney for the developers.
“We came up with a building idea and concept that could fit into a historic neighborhood,” he said.
No residents spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing on the project, and the hearing was continued to June 9.
Some commission members questioned the building’s close proximity to another house and a tight turn from South Street onto Taylor Avenue.
But overall members said they were pleased so far with the plan.
“It’s a good looking building and a good use of that space,” member Rich Tibbitts said.