Affordable Housing Changes Could Pave Way for Baron's South Development

An important step toward the town developing Baron’s South into affordable senior housing and a health care facility will be heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.

Amendment 625, submitted by First Selectman Gordon Joseloff,, would change affordable housing regulations in order to allow a proposed skilled nursing facility for 84 patients and 66 one- and two-bedroom rental units for seniors.

The plan was drafted and heralded by Joseloff and his administration. He has said in the past that the scale of the project is not set in stone.  

“The overall objective of this request is to use town-owned property to retain our seniors, whose contribution to the town has been invaluable and impossible to calculate,” Joseloff wrote in the application. 

The plan is still in the early stage and no potential costs have been released, but Joseloff said in the past that his aim is make the impact minimal to taxpayers.

Baron's South is located between Imperial Avenue and Compo Road South. It houses the Center for Senior Activities and an abandoned mansion. The twenty-three acres of mostly undeveloped land cost taxpayers $7 million to purchase more than ten years ago

Some of the changes in the application include modifying existing definitions or drafting entirely new definitions for the unique plan.

Some new definitions include:

• Assisted Living Facility: A group of private dwellings and/or shared living quarters with common rooms and facilities (i.e. kitchen, living rooms, etc.) primarily for seniors in need of some medical care and/or professional assistance with performing typical activities of daily living.
• Full Care Living Facility: A shared living facility primarily for seniors in need of 24-hour professional care including, but not limited to, skilled nursing and hospice services.
• Independent Living Facility: A group of private dwellings and/or shared living quarters with common rooms and facilities (i.e. kitchen, living rooms, etc.) primarily available to seniors who are capable of independently performing typical every-day activities.

In November 2010, the Planning and Zoning Commissionan early, tentative approval by saying that they're OK with the proposed use of the project. This was the green light for the project to move beyond the conceptual phase.

A timeline of the recent history of Baron's South can be .