Developer reduces unit count in proposed West Hartford multifamily project
An architect's rendering of the proposed Vessel development at 29 Highland St.
The West Hartford Town Council on Thursday continued a public hearing on an application by a New York-based multifamily housing developer seeking to redevelop a property in town to give them time to address safety questions.
Vessel RE Holdings LLC and Vessel Technologies Inc. have filed an application for a zone change for an approximately 2.3-acre site at 29 Highland St. The property is the former location of Hughes Health & Rehabilitation and is located just up the street from Bristow Middle School.
The application seeks to change the existing single-family zone to a multifamily residence district.
Vessel has applied to convert the property into a multifamily residential development that will qualify as a “set-aside development” under Section 8-30g of the state’s General Statutes, which promotes the development of low-cost housing with long-term affordability protections.
The state law includes an appeals procedure to override local zoning denials of affordable housing proposals without just cause. It ensures that municipalities cannot deny an affordable housing proposal unless there is a specific significant health or safety concern.
Vessel initially proposed creating 112 units, but following a request from the council during an earlier public hearing on Feb. 25, it agreed to combine some single-bedroom units to create additional two-bedroom apartments, which reduced the overall number of units to 108.
During a continuation of the public hearing Thursday, Mayor Shari Cantor stated that town staff had raised many questions regarding public health and safety issues related to the project’s “modular, prefabricated construction methods” and “semi-open design.”
The buildings for the project will be prefabricated and then assembled on-site. The construction includes grates, metal screens and mesh for common areas, including hallways and stairwells.
According to Vessel’s application narrative, its patented prefabricated building design “utilizes a façade system that is twice as energy efficient as would be required under the most stringent building codes. This significantly reduces heating and cooling demand and consequently, power consumption.”
The narrative also states a Vessel site “can be constructed in as little as eight to nine months, compared to the average 18- to 24-month timeline for
a traditional multifamily building of a similar size.”
It also adds that all Vessel buildings, “including the building proposed here, are designed to be fully compliant with all applicable building and fire safety codes.”
Vessel is an active developer in Connecticut with projects ongoing in a number of cities and towns.
The continuation of the public hearing, which is set to reconvene on Tuesday, April 29, at 6 p.m., will give the applicants time to address the issues raised by town staff and submit additional materials.
Chuck Cousey, a spokesman for Vessel, said the developer looks “forward to continuing to work with the town to replace a large empty, deteriorating building with safe, sustainable and attainably priced housing for folks who want to live in West Hartford.”
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