Developers present 208-unit 'Legacy on Main' project to Danbury Planning Commission; hearing continued to Aug. 20

Tower Investment Group LLP presented a special-exception site plan to the Danbury Planning Commission on Aug. 6 for the “Legacy on Main,” a two-building downtown redevelopment at 30 and 34 Main Street that would create 208 apartments. Attorney Tom Beecher and project engineer Benjamin Dodo told commissioners the resubmitted application addresses earlier sewer-capacity concerns and meets recent Downtown TOD (DTOD) zoning requirements.

Beecher said the proposal is consistent with the city’s Plan of Conservation and Development and the downtown TOD study, and argued the project supports the city’s housing goals. “These apartments in these buildings will be rental units,” Beecher said, adding the project aligns with the city’s affordable housing plan while confirming the development will not include deed-restricted 8-30g units.

Dodo described the site plan and technical fixes. The project preserves and renovates the existing 30 Main building (48 units) and adds a new rear building (160 units) for a total of 208 apartments. The unit mix the applicant provided is 72 efficiency units, 121 one-bedroom units and 16 two-bedroom units. Dodo said the site will be served by city water and sewer but — to avoid adding flow during daytime peak hours — the rear building will route waste into two large underground holding tanks with roughly 14,000 gallons of storage; pumps will discharge to the city sewer between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

On parking and circulation, Dodo said the plan provides about 250 parking spaces in a new garage and 53 surface spaces. He described circulation improvements including a new 30-foot drive aisle and a separate right-turn egress to reduce conflicts. Dodo also said the design includes EV charging infrastructure (roughly 30 chargers in the garage and two outside on the current plan) to meet DTOD requirements, and that an underground oil/water separator will handle garage drainage rather than routing it to the storm system.

Applicants noted several plan updates remain: a modified landscaping plan to show utility easements and site-distance dimensions, a finalized hydrant-flow test and a water-main extension that will need city-council approval. Beecher and Dodo said the city traffic engineer’s comments are pending and that, because of project scale, the proposal will require state-level traffic review (ASTA/formerly the state traffic commission) before final approval.

Councilman Dwayne Perkins, speaking during public comment, said he was not opposed but asked for more detail on trip-generation claims, whether the state DOT would be approached about striping, how left turns from the complex would be handled, whether oil-and-water maintenance protections would follow a future owner, construction timing and whether EV charging raises fire-safety concerns. Perkins also cited a spreadsheet that appeared to list 108 efficiency units; Beecher and Dodo responded that the confirmed unit breakdown is 72 efficiencies, 121 one-bedrooms and 16 two-bedrooms and agreed to confirm and reconcile any plan/spreadsheet discrepancies.

Resident Paul Rotello praised the building façade and requested more information about maintenance needs for pervious pavement and the pumping system. Dodo said the sewage system includes dual pumps that alternate, a generator circuit and an overflow gravity line so the design has redundancy; he also described options for pervious pavers designed for vacuum maintenance rather than gravel.

The commission summarized outstanding items for the applicant: a traffic-engineer presentation addressing total versus peak-hour trip estimates, potential DOT striping or ASTA follow-up, confirmation of unit counts and affordable-housing status, finalized landscape and sight-distance notes, water-main approvals, and details on maintenance responsibilities and EV/fire-safety measures. A commissioner moved to continue the public hearing; the commission voted to continue the hearing to Aug. 20 and then adjourned.

Next steps: the applicant will provide updated landscape plans and traffic analysis, and the public hearing is continued to the Aug. 20 Planning Commission meeting for further review.