Construction Resumes At Grist Mill Commons In Simsbury

SIMSBURY—

— Construction work at Grist Mill Commons, the first
development to be built using the new "planned area" zoning
regulation, has started months ahead of time thanks to this
year's unseasonably warm, dry weather.

Once completed, the project will add 20 tri-level townhouses,
88 upscale apartments, a restaurant and office space near the
corner of West Street and Grist Mill Road. Construction on the
apartments was originally scheduled to begin this spring.

Ron Janeczko, developer and partner of Farmington-based
Landworks Development LLC, said the mild winter weather this
season has provided an opportunity for construction crews to
resume work earlier than anticipated. He added that crews have
already excavated the front portion of the 5-acre parcel where
the 300-year-old grist and saw mill building sits. Crews were
also able to get some work in to control drainage.

The newly renovated restaurant at 77 West St. is expected to
open within the next couple of months, said Town Planner Hiram
Peck. Construction crews have been working on a 90-space
parking lot outside the building, which will also house a new
office for Landworks Realty, currently based out of Farmington.

The project, which was unanimously approved by the zoning
commission on April 4, is the first to be approved under the
town's planned area development zoning regulation, which went
into effect in September 2010. It was developed with the
intention of creating "attractive, livable, environmentally
wholesome and pedestrian-friendly public spaces" in Simsbury, according to the
town's website.

Plans to construct upscale town homes, commercial space and
apartments perfectly fits into the mixed-use focus of the
regulation, Peck said.

"It's exactly keeping with what we had envisioned for the
town," he said.

The roughly $30 million project is expected to take another
2-plus years to complete.

Five buildings with a total of 20 townhouses are to be built on
a 2-acre lot adjacent to that of the restaurant. Each will have
with two bedrooms, a den and two-and-a-half bathrooms and will
range in size from 1,800 to 2,100 square feet. The development,
which overlooks the mill pond and gorge, will be called Mill
Pond Crossing.

The largest area, about 10.5 acres off Grist Mill Road, will be
converted into apartments called Grist Mill Commons, Janeczko
said. Eighty-eight units will be built, of which four will be
free-standing and 84 single-level with private garages and
elevator access. Both 1- and 2-bedroom units are included in
the plans and range in size from 900 to 1,500 square feet.

"We are building this as if we would be living there," said
Janeczko, a Farmington resident, in
reference to his business partner Chris Nelson, also a
Connecticut native. "We're from here, we live here, we've
raised our kids here.

"Our vision is to create a place where people will want to
live, where they will be happy and comfortable."

Excerpt from:
Construction Resumes At Grist Mill Commons In Simsbury