KENT, Conn.—Kent Housing Development Associates appeared before the Architectural Review Board this week for the first review of their 80-unit housing proposal for a meadow south of Kent Green.
Board members in early June asked for more specific details and pointed out areas of concern, inviting the development team to come back before its Monday, July 13, meeting.
Jim Millstein, the managing partner of the group, explained that Planning and Zoning has approved a Planned Development Design for the 12.5-acre tract, a plan that has been “branded on this parcel.”
“Nothing else can be built on it without going back before Planning and Zoning,” he observed. “You are step number two in a process of multiple stages.”
He asked the team’s architect, Paul Attemann, to take the board members through the plan, which calls for 14 buildings to be clustered on about seven acres at the north end of the property. The lower portion of the land would be left as open space with walkways through it for passive recreation.
The six building types offer a variety of facades and interior configurations. There are three 12-unit three-story walkups, while others are town houses and four-apartment complexes. The larger, 12-unit buildings are the “missing middle typology,” according to Atteman. “They are bigger buildings that look like larger, stately homes.”
The height of the three-story structures will be minimized by making one-bedroom apartments on the third floor that will fit under the angles of the roof.
“They would be simple, but elegant, with the third story created in the attic to diminish the impression of height,” he said.
Bisecting the property is a drainage channel that has dictated some of the design. The design team decided not to try to move the waterway, but to build around it because of the cost of moving it. The manmade waterway was described as a “primary organizing element” that will be transformed into “a nice channel with formal tree plantings.”
Kent Green Boulevard, which currently ends at the adjacent town hall, would be extended through to Maple Street. Some of the buildings would be recessed away from the road and Atteman said the planners are looking for opportunities to create green spaces for community gatherings. Parking, he noted, has been tucked away behind the buildings.
At present, the color scheme favored by Millstein is “white on white”—white trim and off-white lap siding with front doors individualized by the occupants.
ARB member Victor Lewis expressed mild concern about the grid-like plan for the development, saying it did not reflect Kent architecture. “One lovely thing is Kent is not like that, and I don’t want it to be like that,” he said.
Millstein said the planners had walked the Elizabeth Street block, which has mixed housing. “We think we should look to that kind of housing,” he said.
Member Wes Wyrick expressed a different sentiment, saying he was impressed that the development seeks to create a “village style of feeling and atmosphere down the [extended] boulevard.”
“I rather like the traditional detailing, etc. I think you handle the high density in a creative way,” he said.
Member Jill Porter noted, however, that buildings 1, 12 and 14 seemed scaleless compared to the townhouses and asked for elevations that would reflect their appearance as compared to the townhouses. She said she had no issue with the size of the buildings but noted that ARB guidelines call for more complex roofs for larger structures.
Joanne Wasti said her main concern is the scale of the bigger buildings. “I just don’t like the idea of making an apartment building something it’s not—it’s an apartment building, not an estate. I think the housing density is fine to have in that kind of neighborhood.”
Jessica Pleasants agreed that the large buildings could use additional appeal. But she feels that the meandering paths give a rural impression that softens the grid layout.
And Chairman Jonathan Moore said he is a “nuts and bolts” kind of person and requested more details regarding materials. “I like everything presented, but I’d like more detail on what is going on in those buildings,” he said. “What are the window sizes, for instance—that would help me visualize what they would look like. For me to approve I want a more definite view.”
Millstein said a new landscape architect has just joined the team and that he hopes to have that plan to present soon. He and his team agreed to return to the July meeting with additional information.
