New Canaan’s preeminent business organization is voicing support for a widely discussed proposal to create a hotel on Locust Avenue downtown.
Heard by the Planning & Zoning Commission during a pre-application presentation in May, the proposed 40-key hotel and mixed-use project at 39 and 49-51 Locust Ave. has the “strong support” of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, according to a letter from its executive director.
“One of New Canaan’s persistent challenges is its limited hotel capacity,” Laura Budd wrote in a Sept. 17 letter. “Despite being home to cultural assets that attract visitors from across the country and abroad, our town has only 17 rooms available at the Roger Sherman Inn. As a result, many visitors stay in Stamford or Norwalk, where their dining and shopping dollars are lost to surrounding communities. The addition of 48 hotel rooms in downtown New Canaan will be transformative, allowing visitors to stay locally. With 98 parking spaces included in the project, these guests will be able to walk into town to shop, dine, and experience all that New Canaan has to offer—a meaningful boost to our economy and our small businesses.”
P&Z is expected to open the application from local property owner Two Corners LLC and developer Windward Development, Inc. during a special meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday (the Commission’s regularly scheduled meeting for next week has been canceled).
Town Planner Sarah Carey noted in her memo to P&Z that proposed text changes to the New Canaan Zoning Regulations would “allow hotels and would increase the allowable number of stories and [maximum] building height for development if certain conditions are met, in the Business C Zone.” Carey flagged items in the large application now on file with Planning & Zoning at Town Hall, including specifics of the proposed text changes, setback and building line encroachment, a nonconforming wall and nonconforming floor area ratio.
In a project overview that forms part of its application, Windward notes that 49-51 Locust would include the hotel as well as “a ground floor F&B [food and beverage] outlet connected to an outdoor landscaped patio open to both guests and the public, approximately 600 SF of retail space along Cherry Street, and surface and underground parking.”
Number 39 Locust “would include approximately 4,600 SF of ground floor office/retail space, approximately 8 extended stay hotel keys with full kitchens on the 2nd and 3rd floors combined, and surface and underground parking.”
Windward notes that the properties “are located at a prominent intersection and gateway to Town, but they do not currently create a sense of place or a welcoming entry to Town.”
“Windward believes this Project would help revitalize the northeast section of Town by: i) providing mixed uses to better address the current needs of the Town; ii) pursuing adaptive reuse to preserve existing setbacks and parking, minimize disruptions and impacts to neighboring businesses and residents, and reduce the Project’s environmental footprint; iii) improving the architecture of both Buildings; and iv) improving the pedestrian experience.”
In her letter to P&Z, Budd said the proposed mixed-use component of the project “will also address a critical gap in our commercial landscape.”
“New Canaan lacks sufficient top-tier office space and flexible retail options to meet the needs of today’s businesses,” Budd continued. “This development will provide much-needed modern space that will attract and retain high-quality tenants, further strengthening our commercial base.”
P&Z also received letters of support for the project from the neighboring Community Baptist Church and the NC Land Company across the street. Two neighbors at the Heritage Square condominiums on Forest Street submitted letters saying they hadn’t been properly noticed about Thursday’s meeting, and raising concerns about “access to sunlight and views, traffic and parking on Forest Street and in the area more generally (which is already quite congested), drainage problems in the area, and steps that could be taken to minimize the disruption caused by a major construction project if it proceeds,” according to a letter from Mark Welshimer.