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November 6, 2024

Multifamily developer’s lawsuit against Simsbury set for discussion next week

The Ridge at Talcott Mountain - South, a 540 residential development planned for The Hartford's former Simsbury campus on Hopmeadow Street.

Simsbury’s Zoning Commission next week is scheduled to discuss in executive session a lawsuit filed against the town by a developer whose plan to build a large multifamily housing project on Hopmeadow Street was rejected.

At its next meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. Nov. 14, the commission is set for a “legal briefing and discussion of pending litigation and/or claim” regarding the case, the agenda shows.

The suit stems from a proposal by New Jersey-based The Silverman Group to add 432 residential units to the property – the former home of insurer The Hartford’s Simsbury campus – including a three-story building, duplex units, a 27,500-square-foot commercial space and a 5,000-square-foot restaurant with apartments over it.

Originally, Silverman Group proposed 580 units on the 172-acre property, but it scaled down the project and increased the amount of affordable units from 10% to 15% in its final submission.

According to the lawsuit, the commission denied the application at its meeting on Feb. 21, 2024. The suit contends that the commission “acted illegally and in abuse of the discretion vested in it,” in violation of the state’s zoning statute.

The suit states that the commission relied on “speculation and generalized concerns” in denying the application, and that it ignored expert testimony.

Also, the commission tried to force Silverman Group to provide owned-occupied units despite there being “no statutory or regulatory basis authorizing the commission to distinguish between owner-occupied and rental units,” according to the suit.

The developer says it was wrongly prohibited from its right to develop the property.

Silverman Group acquired The Hartford’s former Simsbury campus in 2016 for $8.5 million, and then quickly demolished the insurer’s 640,000 square feet of office space.

The developer is asking the court to send the application back to the Zoning Commission with the direction to approve it.

Silverman Group is represented by David F. Sherwood of Moriarty, Paetzold & Sherwood in Glastonbury.

The town is being represented by Kenneth Slater Jr. of Halloran & Sage.

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