Darien ARB requests major façade, canopy and landscaping revisions for Heights Corner

The Darien Architectural Review Board on Dec. 16 directed a set of substantial design revisions for the Heights Corner mixed-use development, asking the applicant to adjust façade materials, enlarge a rear pedestrian canopy, refine balcony finishes and overhaul key park landscaping features before issuing an administrative certificate.

Representatives for the Heights Corner project (B. Maslan, J. Vaccaro, P. Cerrone, Erik, M. Popp and R. Prior) described recent changes including a west-side relocated stair, black metal railings, an increased glazing rear entrance and gray aluminum cladding with black window cladding. The applicant also proposed wood-look porcelain in balcony recesses and a small overhang at a rear entrance to better differentiate residential and commercial entries.

The Board requested several specific revisions. Members asked that the limestone band between the second and third stories be replaced with a brick course and that the project use the brick color identified by the applicant as the "Greenwich High School" selection (marked #1). The rear pedestrian entrance canopy was to be enlarged into a projecting 90-degree square that extends past adjacent glass fenestration. The Board also asked for a brick corbel at the roof cap where brick is proud on the façade.

On balconies, the Board directed that back walls and caps use wood, while recesses should be finished in adjacent fenestration material (metal or brick siding) except for one corner balcony which should remain wood. The Board further asked that metal siding continue to grade at the new west stair entrance.

Landscape and public-space changes were detailed as part of the conditions. The Board recommended reworking the flagpole base into a deliberate sitting element (increasing width and a base height of 18–20 inches with an interior back-lip), replacing existing tables with more modern wood-fitted seating, changing the park sidewalk pattern from a herringbone design to a more contemporary pattern, and swapping roses and hydrangeas for prairie-style plantings. Members asked that hop hornbeams remain at the corner of Heights Road and Edgerton Road, complemented by a varied mix of maples, oaks or other shade trees without repeating tree beds side-by-side. The Board also suggested replacing two existing sculptures with large boulders or natural play elements for children.

The Board recorded that an administrative certificate will be issued once the requested revisions are made to the plans and resubmitted for review. The Board did not vote to deny any of the proposed design changes but required the listed updates be incorporated into the final construction documents.