Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund company, is set to be developed into a complex with affordable housing and office space, according to Westport News.
The proposal, which still has to go before the Planning and Zoning committee, will be called Glendinning Village if approved. The complex will contain 10 homes, and two will have 12 studio apartments for adults with disabilities.
Connecticut’s affordable housing law, 8-30g “pushes — but does not require — all municipalities to have 10% of their housing stock deemed affordable,” according to NancyonNorwalk.com. The law includes a process that allows developers to bypass local zoning decisions, and instead go through a court if they set aside 30% of a project’s units to be deemed as low-income housing.
I’m so grateful to David [Waldman] and to his group that they are starting to encourage this in our community, and to create opportunities in our community because there are none.
— Kathryn Turley-Sonne
David Waldman, one of the partners on the project, said that this complex will contribute to the town’s need to meet an affordable housing moratorium in order to prevent 8-30g developments from being built in Westport.
If Glendinning Village is completed, 12 affordable housing points will be accredited for in the town of Westport, and in the context of 8-30g.
The complex will include parking, chargers for electric vehicles, gardens and an overall beautiful location, according to Westport news.
On Monday, when the proposal was first looked at by the Planning and Zoning commission, many town residents expressed gratitude for the accessibility that Glendinning Village would provide. Kathryn Turley-Sonne, the mother of a nuero-divergent adult, shared her thoughts on the project.
“I’m so grateful to David [Waldman] and to his group that they are starting to encourage this in our community, and to create opportunities in our community because there are none,” Turley-Sonne said during the hearing.
Many other town residents had concerns regarding the fragile environment of the area, the septic systems that the land would have to handle and traffic congestion, according to the Westport Journal.
The prices of the project have not yet been determined, but construction is hoped to be started around fall of this year.
