SOUTHINGTON – A local homebuilder is looking for town approval to construct 23 homes off Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike.

Tony Denorfia of AA Denorfia Building and Development wants to build two and three-bedroom homes for those 55 and over. In addition to needing less space, Denorfia said these buyers are also looking to avoid lawn care and other outside maintenance. 

“There’ll be an association that’ll take care of the outside maintenance,” he said.

In April, town planners gave Denorfia approval to rezone the 10-acre property at 570 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike as an age-restricted cluster housing zone. This allows greater density than normally allowed in residential zones.

Now he’s looking for town approval to build the development. Denorfia said most of the houses will have two bedrooms. Size will range from 1,400 to 1,800 square feet.

Prices have stabilized “a little bit,” Denorfia said, although rising interest rates have had an influence. 

“Right now, it’s hard to tell. We’re anticipating that they'll be in the high three hundreds to low four hundreds, depending on the market,” he said. “Housing is very market-sensitive. The rates go up, the number of buyers go down.”

Opposition to building

The Planning and Zoning Commission hasn’t yet taken up Denorfia’s request to build the development. The vote to approve rezoning the property was 5 to 2. Some area residents also opposed the development, saying they are worried about changes to quality of life.

Jennifer Tulacro, a Hillcrest Drive resident and neighbor of the planned development, wrote a letter to commission members stating her opposition.

“This property is already surrounded on four sides with streets and existing homes making it extremely densely populated as it is. Furthermore, this parcel is an area of green space that is becoming increasingly rare in a town that has seen an unbelievable amount of building that does not seem to end,” Tulacro wrote.

Other area residents communicated their concerns over traffic, emergency services, the loss of undeveloped land and drainage.

Denorfia said after he builds the development, drainage in the area will improve.

Some supply chain relief

Denorfia said material prices have dropped, though they remain twice as much as before the pandemic. Delivery times have also come down. Denorfia said garage doors were back ordered up to nine months but now are a more reasonable six week delivery time.

Construction won’t begin until next year if the plan is approved by the town.

“I’m hoping we should be able to start in the spring,” Denorfia said.

jbuchanan@record-journal.com203-317-2230Twitter: @JBuchananRJ