New Canaan committee outlines town-build and land-bank strategies, seeks $30,000 consultant to evaluate Riverwood conversions

Acting chair (name not specified) convened the New Canaan Affordable Housing Committee on Feb. 10, where Krista Nielsen, chair of the Project Development Subcommittee, outlined two primary strategies to grow the town’s affordable housing supply and recommended a consultant to analyze costs and site feasibility.

Nielsen said the subcommittee has identified two approaches: a “town build” strategy using underused municipal parcels (the top three candidate sites listed were Richmond Hill, Locust Avenue and the Lumberyard parking lot) and a “land bank” approach to acquire or hold property for future conversion. "I think the acquisition of Riverwood was a very strategic and smart move on the part of the town," Nielsen said, adding that the Riverwood (formerly Avalon) purchase bought time but will not by itself guarantee another moratorium without additional acquisitions or new construction.

Nut graf: The group focused on how to meet moratorium thresholds now and through 2032. Nielsen said the town can reach the moratorium set for 2028 using carryover points and planned conversions, but for the 2032 application the town will likely need to convert additional Riverwood units or acquire/build more units. The subcommittee recommended funding a consultant (estimated at about $30,000) to analyze the “Goldilocks” number of Riverwood units to convert, site feasibility for…