POLL: 300-Unit Senior Facility Plan Draws Opposition

There hasn't been a formal presentation yet but a proposal to build a 300-plus unit senior living facility on a 15-acres of land in central Greenwich, is drawing the ire and opposition of nearby residents.

Plans for Greenwich Tollgate - a combination of independent, assisted and skilled nursing living facilities for senior citizens - have raised the eyebrows and concerns for development of wetlands, blasting of rock and storm runoff of residents who live on the streets that ring the project - Oak Street, Hemlock, Hickory, Valley and Edgewood. The residents planned to outline their opposition at an Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency hearing on Oct. 17. But scheduling conflicts prompted the hearing to be rescheduled for Nov. 14.

The plans have been submitted by PRI Acquisitions LLC. According to the plans there are 12 parcels of land that would be combined to form a 15.296 acre site that would be the backdrop for Greenwich Tollgate - a senior citizen communituy with 241 independent living units; 20 assisted living units; 27 skilled nursing beds and 16 memory care units.

Entrance to the site would be from 345 W. Putnam Ave. - where Post Road Ironworks is located. The internationally-recognized foundry, whose projects have included Yankee Stadium, the 9-11 National Memorial, the Lincoln Center Revson Fountain and the New York Botanical Gardens Conservatory, has operated at the site since 1927. The proposed senior facility takes its name from the historical significance of the location - where a tollgate was located hundreds of years ago.

It is not apparent whether the foundry would close or be relocated. A message left Thursday for the principals of Post Road Ironworks - who also own a majority of the properties that comprise the proposed project site - was not returned.

First Selectman Peter Tesei said he is concerned that the project would produce one of the largest buildings in Greenwich - about 600,000 square feet in an area that is primarily zoned for single-family homes. A portion of the land is zoned for general business - land where the ironworks is located. In addition to the senior housing, the proposal includes parking 320 vehicles, Tesei said.

"There would be 33 percent building coverage of the property and 20 percent is allowed. This is an extremely negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood," Tesei told Greenwich Patch. According to Tesei, the plans would call for buildings 85 feet tall and the existing zoning allows a maximum height of 30 feet.

"It is not conducive to the neighborhood. It will create a lot of traffic that is not sustainable," Tesei said. "We can advocate on behalf of the neighborhood ... and it involves wetlands."

According to documents on file with the Inland Wetlands agency, surveys of the property indicate there are seven areas designated as wetlands.

Former Greenwich Selectman Lin Lavery lives in the neighborhood and said she and the residents are galvanized against the project because of the impact on  "wetlands, tree clear-cutting ... there are too many impervious surfaces. The bulk and sheer size of this is just enormous." She said that while residents can understand "building a commercial entity on the Post Road, this is a loss of neighborhood integrity ... it is moving a commercial zone into a residential zone and the town shouldn’t allow it."

Other neighbors are opposed to the expected blasting of rock in the area - which, according to records, was a rock quarry.

More than 100 residents opposing the project have signed petitions filed with the Inland Wetlands Agency. They also have written numerous letters saying the bucolic nature of the neighborhood which drew them to Greenwich would be lost if the project is approved.