Trend of apartment proposals continues in New London
New London — Continuing the trend of upscale apartments being proposed or under construction in the city, A.R. Building Co. is proposing a new 88-unit complex on Georgetown Road.
The proposed new project would be located on vacant property contiguous with land where the company built a $15 million, 104-unit complex at 60 Mansfield Road. That project is completed and occupied.
A.R. Building, doing business as Mansfield Apartments II LLC, has applied to the Inland Wetlands and Conservation Commission for a wetland permit because a portion of the property is within a 100-foot upland review area. The commission, which will take up the application Thursday, will determine whether the project has a significant or minor impact to the wetlands. If the commission determines there will be a significant impact, it requires a public hearing.
The project is still at an early stage and eventually will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Attorney William Sweeney, who represents A.R. Building Co., said the proposal is a companion project to the Mansfield Avenue apartment complex. A.R. Building acquired 6.3 acres of land for the project in November for $287,595 from Red Feather LLC, a company whose principal is listed as Judith Bell, public records show.
Sweeney said the complex is expected to follow the design of the Mansfield Road building, with high-end finishes and amenities. While the 60 Mansfield Road project was aimed at the younger Electric Boat employee market, the residents there are a varied mix of young and old, Sweeney said.
The need for new and modern apartments in New London is evidenced by the speed at which the 60 Mansfield Road complex filled up with little in the way of advance advertising, Sweeney said. A.R. advertises the unit prices as $1,125 per month for a studio, $1,215 for a one-bedroom and $1,640 for a two-bedroom.
“Nobody’s really built anything of that quality in a decade in the area,” Sweeney said. “It’s an absolute success.”
Sweeney said the smaller units in particular are in demand and he expects the new complex will cater to that need.
A.R. Building Co. is active in the area and broke ground in October on a four-story, 98-unit, apartment complex on a long-vacant site at the corner of Bank and Howard streets, known as Parcel J. The company paid $650,000 for the city-owned land.
The company is negotiating with the Renaissance City Development Association and vying to be the first developer to break ground on the Fort Trumbull peninsula, with plans for a $20 million, 104-unit multifamily residential project.
It also recently completed the first phase of a nearly 150-unit apartment complex on Pleasant Valley Road North near the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, called Pleasant Valley Apartments.
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