Arnold Karp

‘Active Adult Senior Housing’: Builder Suggests Public-Private Partnership at Weed and Elm

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A prominent local builder on Wednesday said he’s willing to work with the town to create housing for seniors on a 3-acre residential lot at the edge of downtown New Canaan. 

Representing a partnership that owns the property at Elm and Weed Streets, Arnold Karp of Karp Associates told members of the Town Council during their regular meeting that there’s been “some discussion about active adult senior housing and there are lots of committees who are discussing if it is a need in town.”

“This may be a once in 50- or 100-year opportunity to have a private developer work with the town and Waveny [LifeCare Network] and come up with additional senior housing choices,” Karp said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “If it is the town’s will that they don’t want that, we are happy to do something else with the property. I bought it. I’ve owned it for four years. It’s currently rented.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Police at 12:13 a.m. Sunday cited a 26-year-old Easton woman for possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than .5 ounces of marijuana after stopping her car on Old Stamford Road for a defective headlight. A 51-year-old Norwalk man had been cited for a marijuana-related infraction at about 9;45 p.m. on Oct. 10 after police stopped his car on Talmadge Hill Road for having no working tail lights. ***

A Norwalk builder on Sept. 24 applied to the town for a demolition permit for 80 Harrison Ave., a 1952-built Cape.

News

Main Street Traffic Halted As Smoke Billows Above Morse Court Building

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Emergency responders rushed to Main Street at Morse Court late Thursday morning as black smoke began billowing above a two-story building’s roof on the corner. Fire and police rushed to the scene at about 11:15 a.m., closing Main Street from Cherry Street to East Avenue as onlookers, including many workers who emerged from their shops, took photos and videos with their smartphones on a clear, crisp fall day. The smell of burning oil wafted over the area and fire officials in their early assessments suspected a problem with a burner. No flames could be seen. The building on the corner houses optician Morgenthal Frederics on the ground floor.

Arnold Karp

‘Let Us Get Further Down the Road’: Merritt Village Developer Addresses Criticism of Retaining Wall

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The local man who is building the 110-unit Merritt Village complex at the edge of downtown New Canaan is asking for time and rationality from residents complaining about a short stretch of retaining wall that has sprung up along Park Street. Merritt Village is not yet 1 percent finished, according to Arnold Karp of Karp Associates, who won approval for the landmark project two years ago following several months of hearings before the Planning & Zoning Commission. “There is a million-dollar planting plan that obscures and hides the walls,” he told NewCanaanite.com. “Before everybody becomes an architectural critic, let us build the project. We’ve put in 215 feet of wall and have gotten a thumbs-up from some of those who drive by and some nasty comments through New Canaanite.

News

Police: ‘Following Too Closely’ a Leading Cause of Car Crashes Outside of Downtown New Canaan

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The lead cause of motor vehicle accidents at five “hot spot” intersections outside of downtown New Canaan is motorists driving too close to the vehicles in front of them, according to police. Following too closely “overwhelmingly” has been the number one reason for car crashes at Old Stamford and Talmadge Hill Roads, South Avenue and Farm Road and three intersections along the Route 123 corridor, at Old Norwalk Road, Lakeview Avenue and East Avenue, according to New Canaan Police Officer David Payne, the department’s lead accident reconstructionist. As part of a data-driven effort to make local roads safer, Payne at the request of Deputy Chief John DiFederico studied three-plus years’ worth of accident data in New Canaan—some 1,600 crashes in all, he said. “The whole purpose of this was to identify locations, so now that is done and I’ve identified some causation factors, so now the deputy chief wants to do targeted enforcement at those locations,” Payne said. Future efforts from police could revolve around campaigns where police measure compliance with laws such as those requiring motorists to travel a reasonable distance apart from the cars in front of them, then conduct targeted enforcement and measure again at the same places, Payne said.