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07/19/2024 06:12 PMIt’s not often a town meeting brings a crowd that stretches out the door and into the parking lot, but that’s what happened on July 18 at a public information session about a proposed redevelopment of the Westbrook Outlets.
The session, hosted by Lexington Partners, LLC, a Harford-based development company, and outlet owners Inovalis and Hoche Partners, drew residents and neighbors to a packed Westbrook High School auditorium.
The presentation was recorded and will be uploaded to the town website as well as to the Valley Shore Community Television website, vsctv.com.
The meeting was not an official public hearing, no plans have been finalized, and no decisions regarding the project were made. Instead, it was meant as a chance for the developers to explain their proposal and for attendees to ask questions.
The Plans
The proposal, dubbed Westbrook Commons, calls for the outlets to be replaced with a mix of housing, retail, and open space. A 100-room hotel is also proposed for the property.
The developers anticipate constructing 595 residential units and 100 townhomes with garages. The apartments would be a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units. The development would host amenities such as a clubhouse, outdoor pool, fitness room, conference room, coffee stations, rooftop decks, bike storage, dog washing stations, media room, and weekend beach shuttles.
Besides housing, the proposal calls for outdoor recreation fields and an all-season waterfront feature that would be open to the public. The feature would allow for swimming and sunbathing in the warmer months and ice skating in the winter. The housing would be built using environmentally sustainable materials, and trees would be planted along a main street to provide shade and an “intimate” neighborhood feeling for visitors.
About 76,00 square feet of the development would be retail space. According to the developers, the proposed retail would be a mix of dining and entertainment with a focus on boutique stores as opposed to chain stores. When the preliminary plans were first announced in the winter, the proposal called for demolishing the movie theater. However, at the presentation on July 18, the developers said that they are now investigating ways to keep the theater.
Chris Reilly, president of Lexington Partners, said that a large septic system would need to be built to accommodate the building. The application for such a plan has already been submitted to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Reilly estimated two phases of construction would be needed for the project.
The Numbers
Don Poland, an impact consultant for the developer, estimated that the development would lead to between 1,200 and 1,300 new residents moving to Westbrook and 63 new students entering the school system.
According to the developers’ estimates, the estimated annual property tax revenue would be $3,014,726, and the estimated discretionary consumer spending contributed by the residents would be $15,815,388.
Community Input
When it came time for citizens to provide feedback, over twenty different speakers addressed the developers, with opinions ranging from support for the project to firmly against it to neutral.
Several speakers inquired why the proposal had to be so large and dense. Reilly explained that due to the septic capacity needed for such a large piece of property, it made the most economic sense to build to the proposed size and density. Reilly said anything smaller would not be economically feasible.
Still, more speakers said they were concerned that the large development would remove the charm of small town Westbrook. One speaker said that driving through downtowns in the state like Orange and Westport “makes me sick” when he sees how commercial those towns are.
Some speakers disputed the numbers put forward by Poland, particularly an assertion that the development would only contribute 17 trips to the town beach a day. “If you move to Westbrook, you’re doing it for the beaches,” one speaker said to applause.
One resident said they feared overcrowding on the prized beaches and the effect that increasing the town’s population by so much so quickly would have on town resources. The developers said that they believed that by offering a variety of amenities at the apartments, people would stay in the development rather than be a burden on resources such as the library. Reilly said he had met with fire departments, and they expressed no concerns from a public safety standpoint.
Reilly said that the developers would ask the town for a tax abatement to assist with development, but a formal request has not been made. He also noted that preliminary discussions have been held about possibly building a second exit and entrance into the property in Old Saybrook, which could alleviate traffic and congestion concerns.
Other speakers inquired into the price points of the housing, and expressed a fear that locals would be priced out.
Noting that it’s difficult to forecast what costs will be years down the road, Reilly estimated that rents would range from around $2,000 for studio apartments to around $4,000 for the larger units. Reilly said the developers plan to offer a “Hometown Heroes” discount that would target first responders, teachers, and other community pillars. The developers and town would negotiate a percentage of apartments that would be designated as affordable housing, he said. Reilly added that he believes that as more housing is built around the state to meet the demand for housing, the prices will hopefully come down.
There were speakers who were in favor of the project, particularly due to the money generated by it and the possibility of attracting younger residents to town. Those who spoke both for and against the project received applause, though Reilly noted that he suspected many of those in town in favor of the project stayed home since they didn’t have concerns.
There were moments during the public comment portion that led to testy exchanges between the public and developers, particularly between one speaker who repeatedly pressed for details about the project’s financial backers.
“I did not come here to be interrogated,” Reilly said at one point.
Next Steps
Following the meeting Reilly told the Harbor News “These types of events are great for us because it allows us to hear the immediate concerns.”
While every suggestion from the crowd couldn’t be accommodated, he said some of the feedback would be used to inform the final plans.
Reilly also said it was likely that there would need to be more similar public information session in the future.
On Monday, July 22, a public hearing over the first formal application related to the development will open.
The Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. at Town Hall on the developers’ application for a regulation amendment that would allow for buildings with a height of 60 feet and an expanded floor area ratio of 40% to accommodate the increased height. The developer says the change is needed to allow for the density required for the septic plan.
If that application is approved, the developers would next need to file an Inland Wetlands Commission application, then a special permit and site plan application with the town’s Zoning Commission. That application would need to include a finalized set of plans.
In addition to approval from Westbrook boards and commissions, the developers would need to receive their septic approval as well as a traffic approval from the state.
The development team said they hope to be before the Westbrook boards in early 2025 and through the state permitting process by the second quarter of 2025.
The Background
According to Eric Fazilleau, the property owner, when the property was purchased in 2016, the outlets were in decent shape. However, COVID-19 exacerbated problems, and now under 40% of the stores are full. Fazilleau said the outlets are “dying,” and it is not feasible to continue using the property as a mall or outlet. Reilly said the developers have been working on this proposal for nearly two years.