Nearly 300 Residential Units Proposed For Vacant Stamford Office Complex

STAMFORD, CT — A vacant office complex in Stamford could be home to nearly 300 residential units, according to two separate proposals submitted to the Stamford Planning Board.

A proposal from applicant Long Ridge Road LLC is seeking to convert an existing three-story, 302,000-square-foot office building at 120 Long Ridge Road into 196 apartment units, with a mix of studio (23), one-bedroom (64), and two-bedroom (109) units, submitted documents state.

The office building sits on a 24.9-acre property that also features a three-level parking garage with 808 spaces. The garage is proposed to remain.

The property was formerly part of a larger 60-acre piece of land that was home to Stamford Hall, a sanitarium, and later Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, Lisa Feinberg, who is representing the applicants, explained in submitted documents.

Olin purchased the property in 1968 and moved 800 of its employees to the campus the following year. In 1996, General Electric Capital Corp. purchased the property, and later relocated to 800 Long Ridge Road around 2009.

GenRe then moved into the office complex and left in April of this year for 400 Atlantic St.

"The demand for suburban office space has dwindled as companies opt for more urban locations close to major pubic transportation hubs and convenient amenities," Feinberg wrote in submitted documents. "The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated this trend as companies have moved to remote and hybrid work models, thereby decreasing the demands for physical office space and making Class-A office space more affordable. Accordingly, the market for office space outside the central business district is almost nonexistent."

In addition, Toll Northeast V. Corp., the contract purchase of the property owned by Long Ridge LLC, is looking to build 44 two-story "carriage homes," and 58 three-story townhomes.

All of the homes will include three to four bedrooms and incorporate garages, Feinberg noted, adding that 10 percent of the homes will either be designated as Below Market Rate housing or a fee-in-lieu payment "will be provided to satisfy all or a portion of the BMR requirement."

The proposed architecture "incorporates a simple and elegant modern farmhouse aesthetic with a neutral color palette to align with current market preferences," Feinberg wrote.

A clubhouse with a fitness center, club room, flex space and other amenities is proposed for the residential community.

Feinberg noted the proposed development is "consistent with the city's goal of replacing underperforming office sites with uses that are in much higher demand and offers a housing product that has long been considered desirable in the city."

Notably, Feinberg said the Long Ridge Road LLC proposal "will increase the city’s commercial tax base and place less stress on the city’s homeowners. Furthermore, the proposed development will provide greatly needed housing supply, including a contribution to affordable housing, without any visual impact to the surrounding area."

The proposals are expected to go before the Stamford Planning Board in the coming weeks.