Article Title: More Condominium Housing Proposed

Edition: May 2002
Category: General Interest
Author: Jake Brown and Hadley Lewis
Article:

Two new proposed housing developments in Montpelier should be moving through the approval process in the coming weeks and months.

A Burlington developer has filed a preliminary proposal for a 24-unit condominium development on Elm Street, on a parcel directly abutting Woodbury College.

The proposal by Landler and Hoehl, L.L.C. is expected to go before the planning commission for a pre-application meeting on May 6, 2002.

And across town, Viateur "Vic" Fecteau has indicated to the city that he'd like to begin building four more condo "clusters" that were permitted during the early 1980s. That development is slated for property Fecteau owns off Hebert Road, near the Berlin town line.

Montpelier planning and zoning officials are checking to see whether any of the permits that authorized the construction of Fecteau's Stonewall Meadows -- some of which has already been built -- have expired.

The two proposals come just a couple of months after Burlington-based developer Stuart Chase proposed a housing development of as many as 600 units off Barre Street on Sabin's Pasture and another proposal by the Gary Home to build Westview Meadows, a senior housing project off Northfield Street.

The jump in housing proposals is clearly tied to considerable pent-up demand for housing in Montpelier and the surrounding area.

In preliminary materials filed with the city, the would-be developers of the 662 Elm Street project say they aim to provide a "sustainable, ecologically sensitive, high performing healthy alternative to the stock housing options currently on the market."

The Fecteau proposal would be the final piece of development of the so-called Phase One of Stonewall Meadows development. The four new "clusters" would each have 6 condo units, for 24 total new units.

And the city has started the approval process for Westview Meadows, the senior housing project off Independence Green and Freedom Drive.

The planning commission has scheduled a site visit for May 20, 2002 at 4:30 p.m., and a meeting is scheduled that same evening to further discuss the project.

Plans for the senior living complex were unveiled at a planning commission Monday April, 15, 2002. The building would cover 69,600 square feet and house 36 independent units and 16 assisted living units.

The development is being spearheaded by project director Charles Haynes and funded by The Gary Home.

At its meeting, the planning commission tabled the Westview Meadows matter because members said they needed more information.

Because the project is on a hill and water pressure could be a problem in case of fire, the project designers have decided to put a total of 20,000 gallons of water in multiple tanks in the basement of Westview. The tanks would provide additional water and water pressure in the event of a fire.

In the current plan there is enough city water to keep water pressure at the state-mandated minimum of 20 pounds per square inch. However, there is not enough water available to power both taps and sprinklers in the building. Flow tests are still being conducted to determine whether the proposed tank solution is viable.

The project is also still under Act 250 review.

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