Mayor: Developer Pulls Out of Apartment Complex Plan at Evergreen Walk

By Ted Glanzer

The third time was not the charm for an apartment complex to be built at The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk.

Johnson Development, which proposed constructing two apartment buildings with 100 units each at Evergreen Walk, has walked away from the project according to Mayor Dr. Saud Anwar.

“It is my understanding that they are not moving forward,” Anwar said by telephone on Sunday evening. “The developer is backing out of interest in the area right now. It was financial reasoning.”

“These are investors who are looking at multiple other states, including Connecticut,” Anwar said.

The news represents the third setback for a proposed apartment complex at The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk.

“This is a symptom of something deeper that we will have to collectively look at,” said Anwar, noting that the town and the state need to examine how to attract developers to the region. “Savvy investors are looking at other opportunities and better returns in other states. The state of Connecticut and the town need to look hard to attract viable, sustainable businesses and to provide opportunities to make [South Windsor and Connecticut] more attractive than other states.”

Johnson Developers had asked the Town Council for a $700,000 tax abatement spread out over seven years. The discussion on the abatement was not discussed at the last Town Council meeting, however.

Town Councilor Keith Yagaloff subsequently requested financial information from the developer, according to the Town Manager’s report.

Anwar said that he believed that the the Council would have ultimately supported the abatement, even though such tax breaks are typically reserved for commercial, not residential, developments.

“I think… that the votes would be there,” Anwar said.  “Even then, the numbers were not strong enough [for the developer].

“I know people have serious concerns and issues with giving a tax abatement to a residential opportunity. That was the reason we wanted to see if the tax abatement was to bring the actual rent down for the potential [tenants] versus making more money for investors. That’s why we were looking at that data.”

Still, Anwar said that the town needs to do “unprecedented things to make our region for various investors and business more appealing.”

Non-age-restricted apartments have not been constructed in South Windsor since the 1970s, the Hartford Business Journal reported, quoting Town Planner Michele Lipe.

Such housing is a necessity for economic growth in the region, said Anwar, who added that the town is committed to having an apartment complex at Evergreen Walk or some other area of South Windsor.

“When we are looking at the economic development of our town and region, we need to recognize that any high-quality, high-end business coming to the town would like to have good, quality living places and apartments for their employees and executives,” Anwar said. “They would need to have some of those areas available, which makes it more viable. … There is a need for places and apartments like this; it would add an attraction for our town for businesses to look at.”