STAMFORD, CT — The Stamford Zoning Board last week unanimously approved plans for 280 residential apartments and retail space at 74 Broad St., the former site of the national off-price department store retailer Burlington.
The proposal will now go to the Stamford Zoning Board.
Developer RMS is looking to redevelop the site to create a seven-story residential community with 280 apartments, around 5,700 square feet of retail space, and associated amenities.
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“The proposed redevelopment will help to enhance/activate this stretch of Broad Street and bring much needed housing to our transit-oriented downtown,” submitted documents say.
There would be 51 studio, 110 one-bedroom, and 119 two-bedroom units ranging from 540 to 1,250 square feet, according to submitted documents. Of the 280 units, 24 of them would be classified as affordable housing.
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Parking would span over three levels in the basement, at-grade and above-grade for a total of 310 spaces. Retail parking is not required since the property is located near other public parking facilities, but there would be room for retail parking if needed.
“We built in extra spaces,” explained Rick Redniss, who appeared before the board on behalf of the applicant. “We have 310 self parking spaces, when only 291 are required. We’ve built in a lot of flexibility here.”
Some Planning Board members had concerns about parking, especially as it relates to nearby Ferguson Library.
Redniss said the applicant has been working with the library to help accommodate their parking needs so they could have access at the ground level.
“They have certain handicap parking needs they have a desire to improve,” Redniss said of the library. “It’s going to be a balancing act.”
Redniss later said he looked forward to continuing to work with the library from now through construction and operations.
Planning Board member Subramanian Ravi said he was concerned about “the high level of density” the project would bring to the area.
Redniss noted that the city’s master plan “calls for the most intense uses and most density” in the area.
“We want people on the streets, we want people supporting the retail stores,” Redniss said. “The more people we have there on the streets, the more successful our downtown will be.”
Fellow member William Levin agreed.
“I have to agree with the applicant that this kind of density and number of units makes sense. This is the very core of downtown. If you can’t have density here, then where can you have it?” Levin said. “Clearly this is the place. It’s near the bus stations, near the rail station, right in the center.”
The space at 74 Broad St. became available after Burlington moved out at the end of June. The retailer opened a new location in Stamford at the Ridgeway Shopping Center, 2135-2715 Summer St., in July.
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