Groton Open Space Association

Developers Present Plan For Major Senior Housing Complex

GROTON–Developers presented to the Inland Wetlands Agency May 10, 2006, an application to build a major senior housing complex on 105 acres of land between Fort Hill Road (Route 1) and Flanders Road.

Applicant for the 241-unit development is Hawthorne Development Partners LLC, of Woburn, Massachusetts. Current owner of the land, now zoned for half-acre housing, is Glemacy Builders LLC, of Griswold.

The tract involved has eleven wetlands and two Tier 1 (most biologically productive) vernal pools. The plan presented to the Inland Wetlands Agency shows a drainage basin installed within 30 feet of one of the vernal pools.

The applicants said wetlands in the area total 14.7 acres. It said 45 acres of the tract will remain undisturbed, with about 7 acres revegetated after disturbance. The project would have traffic outlets on both Route 1 and Flanders Road.

The IWA scheduled a site walk at 10:30 a.m. May 25, and will use information gathered on the walk in determining whether the project has a potential “major” impact. If so, the IWA will hold a public hearing on the application.

The size of the development–105 acres–is the same as that for the proposed Four Winds over-55 development off Noank-Ledyard Road. The Four Winds plan, currently involved in a court battle with the IWA, envisions 161 units.