Most expensive project in Stonington history almost complete
Published August 20. 2020 2:44PM | Updated August 20. 2020 9:51PM
By Joe Wojtas Day staff writer
Mystic — The $85 million Perkins Farm project, the most expensive development in Stonington’s history, is almost complete and developer David Lattizori acknowledges that there were many times when he didn’t think it would come to fruition.
"There were so many hurdles that could have destroyed the whole project. (Not receiving) one approval could have stopped it. We had public hearings at every step but we got all unanimous approvals,” he said Wednesday.
“It’s been quite a roller-coaster," he added. “I’ve had to learn at every twist and turn. It’s been difficult from the get-go. But the result is we have a project everyone loves.”
The project is composed of Harbor Heights, a 121-unit luxury apartment complex with amenities including an outdoor pool with LED lights that change color at night, a high-end fitness club with Peloton and other interactive equipment, and a yoga studio.
The apartments have 9-foot ceilings, open floor plans, wide plank style flooring, Shaker-style cabinetry, nickel hardware, light granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. It is a nationally recognized green energy building and will soon be solar powered. Rent for one-bedroom units starts at $1,600 a month and two bedrooms start around $2,000 per month. A private ribbon-cutting was held earlier this month.
The project also contains a 50,000-square-foot Hartford Healthcare facility, which opened in January at the intersection of Coogan Boulevard and Jerry Browne Road, and an almost complete 50-unit townhouse condominium project situated around a village green. There is also a dog park and walking trails. There is space left on the site for a professional office building but at this time Lattizori said he has no plans for that development.
Lattizori’s father had tried for more than 20 years to develop the site for a mix of commercial and residential use but those projects were successfully opposed by residents. In 2011, the commission approved a 36-lot subdivision of single-family homes for the site.
Lattizori has said he was a week away from selling the site and its approval in 2015 when a retired doctor, who lived at StoneRidge retirement community across the street, suggested the idea of a project with a geriatric health component. Lattizori then began meeting with a committee of StoneRidge residents to discuss the project with them and gain their support
Lattizori then put together plans for the current project, which were met with widespread support in part because it preserves more than half the site as open space. The extensive buffering and vegetation on the property make it virtually impossible to see the apartments and condominiums from Jerry Browne Road.
Lattizori said Wednesday that the key to getting approval was to listen to and compromise with the community.
“I spent a couple of years listening to what people thought,” said Lattizori, who received his final approvals in 2019.
He said it helped that Mystic is his hometown. “I know this town. It’s where I grew up, I’m not an out-of-touch, out-of-town developer,” he said. “But I had to listen to what people had to say.”
Lattizori said 95% of the apartments have been leased. He said the tenants are a mix of empty nesters wanting to downsize and young professionals, all of whom are looking to enjoy Mystic. He said there are no school-aged children living in the project.
Lattizori said he lost some apartments leases at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but was able to fill the complex because the amenities cannot be found in any other project in the area. He said 60% of the townhouses have been sold and he expects they will sell out by the end of the year.
“It was a big risk but a big reward,” he said of the project.