By Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–A proposal for 30 luxury residences at the site of the former Connecticut Humane Society center garnered praise from the Architectural Review Board (ARB) last night. But they pushed back a vote on the project by one month after asking developer’s representatives to refine a required zoning change.

Specifically, members asked land use consultant Richard Redniss to further clarify changes he proposed to a floating housing zone to more precisely govern the building sizes the new rules would permit on other sites that met the same criteria. They also asked for elevation drawings depicting the west side of the project at 455 Post Road East. 

“I think the architecture is very strong,” said Board Chairman Ward French.

Developer Joe Feinleib of Coastal Luxury Homes in Westport plans to raze the building the humane society vacated last summer for a new location in Wilton, as well as another building. On the 1.77 acres, Feinleib would create five townhouses and 25 rental apartments. The breakdown would be: 9 one-bedroom units, 9 two-bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units. Twenty percent – one townhouse and five apartments – would be designated as affordable housing.

The homes are designed with vertical wood siding, simplified gabled roofs and a ledgestone base that tapers as the site slopes upward. The project would include 34 spaces of underground parking “concealed with well-appointed terraces” in front of the apartment units and a courtyard between the townhouses and the apartments, said Colin Grotheer, senior associate with Beinfield Architecture of Norwalk, the project’s designers. Another 17 parking spaces would sit at grade level.

The site, on the north side of Post Road East between East Main Street and Crescent Park Road, straddles two zones, one residential and another that requires commercial space. The two portions would be combined as one site under the floating Inclusionary Housing Zone. The zoning change sought would eliminate the commercial space requirement.

Redniss said the changes would allow for more residences in the town.

“We have limited sites for housing (in Westport),” he said before the meeting. “let’s get as much housing as we can.”

The project is scheduled to return before the ARB at its Feb. 24 meeting. The zoning change, however, would ultimately require approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Feinleib hopes to begin building the project in about six months. He said it would take about 18 months to complete.

“It’s going to be a very unique and friendly place to live,” Feinleib said in an interview before the meeting, adding that the amenities and landscaping will create “a very calming environment.”

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}