Design board reviews 210-unit apartment plan

Other Committee · Meeting of October 1, 2026

Bloomfield's Design Review Board reviewed revised plans for a 210-unit apartment project at Bloomfield Avenue and Gabb Road, correcting an agenda figure of 214 units. Developer Paul Butler said the project includes more than $3 million in public improvements, including a public dog park and a landscaped gateway modeled on Filley Park, tied to a state-funded Gabb Road traffic-calming project he described at different points as a "$970,000 grant" and "a million dollars." Board member Neil questioned signage lighting and brick sidewalk durability; member Steve asked about a left-turn lane at the Bloomfield Avenue and Gabb Road intersection. Butler said he targets a spring 2027 groundbreaking and hopes to go before the town council as soon as November.

Town staff separately reported the town did not win a state Community Investment Fund grant for the town center project and is weighing reapplying.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,164 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of October 1, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Approval of Minutes

The board opened its October 1 meeting with a routine correction to its February 5 minutes, changing a stated start time from 6 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. The correction and the minutes as amended were approved unanimously on a voice vote, with no discussion beyond the time fix.

Town Center Apartments Phase 4: Overview and Public-Private Partnership

Background and stakes: The project returned to the board for what developer Paul Butler called "mostly a refresher," an update on a design the board has reviewed in prior sessions, now incorporating changes the board requested and new elements the town asked the developer to help fund. Butler, who identified himself as representing 717 Bloomfield Avenue, has previously built the Heirloom Flats (215 units) and a 42-unit project near Town Hall, and is now proposing a fourth phase at the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and Gabb Road.

The question before the body: the board was asked to give design feedback, not a vote, on the project's gateway signage, dog park, sidewalks, lighting and elevation handling ahead of the developer's planned appearance before the town council, tentatively as soon as November.

Substantive content: Butler told the board the project is now sized at 210 units, correcting a figure of 214 that appeared on the meeting agenda. He said the development will not have direct vehicle access to Gabb Road itself; all traffic will route through a signalized intersection at Jerome Way, with only an emergency gate, usable by police and fire, opening onto Gabb Road. He described the project as including more than $3 million in public improvements: a public park and dog park, a landscaped gateway, and support for a town traffic-calming project on Gabb Road funded by what he described, inconsistently over the course of the meeting, as either a "$970,000 grant" or "a million dollars" from the state. The board did not press him to reconcile the figures.

Butler said the development's full foundation at the street corner is designed to make the building appear three stories tall from Bloomfield Avenue and Gabb Road, with storage rather than residential units on the ground floor facing the intersection, because the site drops roughly 12 feet in elevation over the first 100 to 120 feet from the corner. He said final architectural elevations for the rear of the building, which will be more visible from Gabb Road because of the grade change, are not yet complete and that he would email elevation drawings to the board before his next appearance.

The deliberation: Board member Neil said he was pleased the corner area had developed into public green space rather than a building entrance, which the developer removed at the board's earlier suggestion. He questioned the visibility and lighting of a proposed "Welcome to Bloomfield" sign on a low stone wall and said future landscaping should not be allowed to grow up and obscure it. He also said he was "not married" to Butler's proposal to use brick-paved sidewalks, citing long-term maintenance concerns, though he supported a stamped or stone treatment at vehicle entry points for traffic-calming purposes.

"I liked the way it's developed as a sign placed on that low stone wall. But questions come up about, you know, how is it lit? How big are the letters? What does it really say?" — Neil, board member

Board member Steve, participating for the first time, asked whether the town had discussed a dedicated left-turn lane at Bloomfield Avenue and Gabb Road given the added traffic from the project. Butler responded that direct access to Gabb Road from the site would not exist, and that a related question about lane striping was largely resolved by the state-funded Gabb Road project already under construction. Steve also asked Butler to confirm the unit count, prompting Butler's correction from 214 to 210, which Butler attributed to a typo on the agenda.

A board member raised the size of the proposed dog park relative to the parking planned around it, suggesting the park could be enlarged by as much as 50 percent if parking were reduced, and recommended the developer look at dog parks in Granby and Simsbury as models. The same board member proposed the developer consider a short walking trail along Wash Brook on the property, connecting to a future regional trail network that has been discussed for years but not built.

"Why not consider doing a small trail park right now that connects to your public parking lot and create a loop for the dog walkers ... I think the public sidewalk that you showed, you could do a small loop and have a nice little wooded walkway, which I think would be a nice amenity." — board member

Butler said he had already granted the town a permanent easement for a potential future trail path at a prior 42-unit project near Town Hall and expected to do the same at this site. He said the dog park's final dimensions had not been set, that Eversource holds a long-term easement over part of the land and restricts underground work there, and that the project would still need to accommodate drainage and insurance requirements for a long-term, privately maintained but publicly accessible dog park.

Procedural steps and outcome: No motion or vote was taken on the design. Butler said he expects to return to the board multiple times over the winter as engineering and architectural details, including final building elevations on the Gabb Road side and dog park dimensions, are completed.

Implications and what is next: Butler said the project's target is to break ground in spring 2027, with a town council appearance possible as soon as November 2026, followed by full Planning and Zoning review. He said a wetlands delineation has already been completed and that the town has in the past allowed a foundation permit to be pulled before final architectural plans are fully signed off, given the time town staff need to review comprehensive plan sets.

Town Planning Update: POCD, Housing Plan and the CIF Grant

Background and stakes: Under old business, the chair asked a town staff member identified in the meeting only as John for an update on development activity townwide. John reported the town was unsuccessful in a recent application for a state Community Investment Fund (CIF) grant intended to support the town center project, and said the town is weighing whether to reapply and what changes that might require.

Substantive content: John said a request for proposals seeking a developer partner for the town center drew two responses now under review, with a selection expected within about two weeks, though he cautioned the town does not yet control the relevant property. He said the town's draft Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) has completed its review by the town's land use board, with edits expected to be finished within about 10 days before the plan goes to public hearing and then to a required referral period, which he said runs 65 days under state statute, to the regional council of governments and the town council. He said the town hopes to adopt the plan by a meeting in December. He also said the town is drafting zoning text amendments addressing tree preservation, accessory dwelling units, solar regulations and state-mandated "middle housing," and is beginning a required housing plan, with a filing deadline he cited as June 28 under state statute. He said the recommendation is for Bloomfield to prepare its own plan rather than join a regional one, to retain local control.

The deliberation: No board member pushed back on the town update; questions were limited to clarifying what projects were underway.

Other Development Projects Citywide

John and a second staff member, identified only as Rebecca, briefed the board on several other projects. John said a 230-unit, primarily market-rate housing proposal at 800 Cottage Grove Road is undergoing economic analysis for a tax agreement before any land use review begins. He said a new owner has acquired the senior housing property on Dorothy Drive and plans to fully rehabilitate it, temporarily relocating residents to hotels during construction, a model the same ownership group used successfully at a project he referred to as Terra Phil. He said a Popeyes restaurant that had faced construction delays should open within two to three weeks, and that the plaza's owner plans to repave the entire parking lot. He said the town is working with tenants at what he called the Wintonbury Mall and the state of Connecticut on possible financial assistance after a 14-day power outage caused lost revenue, though he said no tenants have permanently left, with one planning to relocate within town.

John said a proposed affordable housing project by a local church, referred to in the meeting as "the cathedral," has cleared land use and wetlands approvals for its first phase of just under 100 units in two buildings and is now in traffic review through the state Office of State Traffic Administration (OSTA). He said the project is pursuing a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement rather than a standard tax assessment agreement, which he said would be the first such arrangement in town, driven by the terms of its federal and state financing. A second phase, with a third building, a daycare center and an addition to the sanctuary, has no set timeline.

Rebecca reported that a commercial property she referred to as PACCO is undertaking signage, facade and parking-facility upgrades and revitalizing its tenant mix over the next 16 months. John added that a five-unit retail complex is under construction on Cottage Grove Road west of the railroad tracks, that a proposal referred to as the Arbella development is likely awaiting final POCD adoption before proceeding, that a second building at the Jolly Drive apartments is under construction, and that the redevelopment of the former drive-in theater site is well underway, with its clubhouse finished and apartment construction beginning.

Administrative and Other Business

The chair said he had met with John between meetings and confirmed the board's review authority extends to any project in town, not only the Bloomfield Center District, with John's office to determine which projects are referred to the board. A board member asked about the status of a previously reviewed street sign application on Seneca Road for a business referred to as Elite Massage; John said he would have staff member Linda check on its status and report back, with the item possibly placed on the November agenda. The board also discussed setting its 2027 meeting schedule at the November meeting, with members indicating a preference to continue meeting the first Thursday of the month at 6:15 p.m. The meeting adjourned on a motion by Neil, seconded by Dale, approved unanimously.

Board chair, name not given in the transcript, presided over the meeting and cast the final vote to adjourn. Neil, board member, present and participating. Steve, board member, present and participating, described himself as the newest member of the board. Dale, board member, present, seconded the motion to adjourn. Additional unnamed board members described collectively as "all members present." John, town staff member, present, delivered the town-wide development update. Rebecca, town staff member, present, reported on commercial property upgrades. Linda, town staff member, referenced but not confirmed present, to follow up on a sign application. Assistant Director Laureano, referenced by title and surname, to be contacted regarding the sign application. Paul Butler, developer of Town Center Apartments Phase 4, 717 Bloomfield Avenue, presented the project. One unidentified member of the public was present but left before the public comment period without asking questions.

Eversource — utility holding a long-term easement over land adjacent to the proposed dog park; restricts underground work and is reviewing a submitted dog park design. MassDOT — to be consulted on relocating or retaining a bus stop near the development's entrance. Office of State Traffic Administration (OSTA) — reviewing traffic for the affordable housing project referred to as "the cathedral." Regional council of governments (referred to in the transcript as "CROG") — set to receive the town's draft POCD for required referral under state statute. Wintonbury Mall (referred to in the transcript as "Wittenberry Mall") — tenants there are working with the town and the state on financial recovery after a 14-day power outage. Ali's Architecture — architecture firm working on Town Center Apartments Phase 4 and prior phases with developer Paul Butler. State Community Investment Fund (CIF) — grant program the town applied for and did not receive for the town center project; a second application is under consideration. Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) — town's draft plan, recently reviewed by the town's land use board, pending public hearing and referral before possible adoption in December. State housing plan statute — requires the town to prepare a housing plan addressing state-mandated "middle housing," with a filing deadline cited as June 28.