CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Manchester nonprofit serving disabled people proposes apartments for clients

Hartford Courant - 11/2/2021

A Manchester organization that serves intellectually and physically disabled people is proposing housing for clients near its headquarters.

MARC Inc. sought feedback from the planning and zoning commission Monday night on a zoning change from industrial to planned residential for part of the five-acre property at 87 Sheldon Road, which the nonprofit organization owns. MARC would keep an industrial lot at the front of the parcel and build several apartment buildings in the back, town senior planner Megan Pilla said Tuesday.

The initial concept is for 40 units, with 25% dedicated to MARC clients, Pilla said. MARC’s attorney, Stephen Penny, said the organization will submit a formal application for the zone change.

MARC bought the vacant land in 2008 for $450,000, records show. The town appraises the property at $233,200. The area has been an industrial park since the 1960s, and MARC, which is based at 151 Sheldon Road, had tried to market the parcel at 87 Sheldon without success, Penny said. Properties neighboring 87 Sheldon include the U.S. Post Office to the east and a condominium complex to the rear.

MARC now needs more housing to bolster clients’ independent living, so the plan is to offer handicap-accessible units to clients at below market rates, Penny said. The rest of the apartments would be offered at market rate rents, he said.

MARC president and CEO Kevin Zingler could not be reached, but according to its mission statement, the organization “provides the opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live meaningful lives of independence, choice, inclusion, and continuous personal growth.”

Planning and zoning commission members, Pilla said, were concerned about losing industrial parcels because not much land is left for such purposes and whether a residential development could be properly set apart to maintain quality of life for residents in an industrial park.

The parcel at the front of 87 Sheldon that remains industrially zoned, Penny said, could host a warehouse business or some other commercial use more compatible with nearby apartments.

Jesse Leavenworth can be reached at jleavenworth@courant.com

©2021 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News