NORWALK — Stamford-based F.D. Rich Co. soon will expand its presence in South Norwalk with construction of a five-story apartment building on Water Street.
The Norwalk Zoning Commission this month approved plans for Harbourside SONO — 80 apartments and 5,500 square feet of retail and office space — at the former Norwalk Community Health Center property at 121-123 Water St.
“We’re happy to have the project approved,” Rich said Friday. “We certainly feel very strongly that it’s going to be a great addition to the neighborhood. I think that it checks every box in terms of the requirements of the South Norwalk Transit Oriented Development Redevelopment Plan that has been adopted by the city. We want to start promptly on April 1.”
The TOD plan aims to revitalize through infill development former industrial and underused properties near the South Norwalk Train Station.
Rich said construction on Harbourside SONO will start after demolition of two existing buildings on the site and take 15 months to complete. Occupancy is slated for July 2019.
Of the 80 apartments, eight will be priced to comply with the city’s Workforce Housing Regulation. All units will have terraces or Juliet balconies. Harbourside SONO also will feature a yoga studio, state-of-art gymnasium, community room with common kitchen, tenant garden space, dog play area and roof-top pool with panoramic views of Norwalk Harbor and the Long Island Sound, Rich said.
Zoning commissioners approved the plan Wednesday evening after revisions were made in response to concerns raised in December about the façade and other design elements. Some commissioners found the earlier design resembled a “factory” or “office building.”
The plan approved Wednesday evening calls for an articulated façade and plenty of glass.
“We worked with the architect to design a somewhat contemporary looking building with a lot of variations in the façade — not only in terms of the shapes that are used but also a wide variety of materials and window types,” Rich said. “About 45 percent of the façade area is glass.”
Last Tuesday, the Norwalk Redevelopment Commission approved the revised design of the building, based upon the recommendation of its consultant, Andriopoulos Design Associates of Norwalk.
Elizabeth Suchy, the attorney who represented Harbourside SONO before the city’s approval bodies, said the revision also addressed Redevelopment Agency staff concerns about how the building interplays with the streetscape given it’s elevation above the flood plain. That meant increasing landscaping and adding a circular space at the corner of Raymond and Water streets.
“We believe it will be transformational for Water Street,” Suchy said of the larger development. “It will attract residents who can then patronize businesses on Water Street and Washington Street, and it fits into the activity of other projects under construction on Raymond and Day streets and the general neighborhood.”
F.D. Rich broke ground last spring on a SoNo Residence Inn by Marriott on South Main Street and expects to complete it this year. In October 2016, the company held a grand opening for The SoNo Pearl, 66 upscale apartments on Washington Street in the heart of SoNo.
The Norwalk Housing Authority and developer Trinity Financial of Boston plan to wrap up the first phase of the rebuilding of Washington Village this spring with the opening of a 10-unit apartment building at 13 Day St. and 70-unit building at 20 Day St.
Alex Soule and R.A. Schuetz contributed to this story.