The developers of a former college campus location in Southington last week officially withdrew plans to develop the site.
Michael Lemanski, Patch Staff
SOUTHINGTON, CT — It appears plans to transform a former college campus in Southington into a large housing development are dead — for now.
Last week, New Haven-based PGX Holdings LLC withdrew its proposal to develop the old Briarwood/Lincoln College site.
"On behalf of my client, I hereby withdraw the variance and the zone change application," wrote Severino Bovino, vice president of Kratzert, Jones & Associates in Milldale (Southington), on April 30.
PGX had applied to the PZC to seek a zone change allowing for the vacant campus at 2279 Mount Vernon Road to become a housing development for those aged 55 and over.
In order for such a development to happen, the zoning for the property needed to be adjusted from residential zoning to what is called "ARCHZ" — an acronym for "age-restricted cluster housing zone."
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PGX also applied to the Southington Zoning Board of Appeals for a variance that would have allowed for part of the facility to be used as rented space.
Now, both applications have been withdrawn.
The developers didn't give an official reason for the withdrawal, but submitted testimony to the town showed resident concerns about the project.
Zoning board members also had several technical questions associated with the project, with the delay in reaching a decition tied to PGX asking for more time to answer them.
The 32.75-acre campus in Southington, once home to Briarwood College, then the Lincoln College of New England, now sits empty. Lincoln shut down in 2018, and the campus has been vacant since.
At the March 4 PZC meeting, the commission extended a public hearing on the application to Tuesday, March 18.
At that meeting, Southington PZC Chairman Robert Hammersley said PGX requested more time to fine-tune its application per the request of the commission.
This resulted in the item being tabled to April 1, where it was tabled further by the zoning board with the applicant still working on a response.
Shortly after the April 1 PZC meeting, the applicants sought a 35-day extension to take up the matter.
With the issue on the agenda for the May 6 PZC meeting, the applicants then requested their application be withdrawn.
Neighbors of the old college site had expressed worry about quality-of-life impacts associated with a large number of new residents living in that area.
"As a nearby resident, I am deeply concerned about the impact this proposal will have on our neighborhood and the integrity of the town's zoning guidelines," wrote Michael and Brittan Jones of nearby Mountain Pond Road.
"While I appreciate the concept of age-restricted (55+) housing, I do not support this specific proposal in its current form. The developers are not following the guidelines set forth for ARCHz zoning. Instead, they are attempting to create 165 rental apartments, which do not fit the character of our neighborhood, nor do they appear to comply with the spirit or letter of the ARCHz zoning requirements."
"Our concerns remain with the uptick in the population with this new 55+ age apartments and possibly cause significant intrusions on our property and diminish our privacy and sense of seclusion," wrote Mary and Richard Sargent, also of Mount Vernon Road.
"We worry about the residents of said apartment dwellings, having the opportunity to walk up through the trees and have open access to our yard. It's very disturbing to think these residents will be able to watch our family functions and backyard activities, and also take away the quiet we have enjoyed for many years."
Withdrawal of the current rezoning and variance applications doesn't necessarily mean the proposal is dead.
But if PGX decides to continue with developing the site, it would need to resubmit new applications.
For all documents related to the proposal, click on this link.
From April 7: 'Action On Old College Site In Southington Delayed Further'