Plans To Demolish Apartment Towers In Stamford Take Step Forward

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford Zoning Board officials this week approved a general development plan to redevelop 109 Tresser Blvd., the site of the St. John's Towers, into a new affordable housing building with 305 units.

To facilitate the demolition of the towers and as part of the preliminary approval, the Zoning Board implemented a condition that applicant St. John Urban Development Corp. must provide a relocation plan for existing tenants for review and approval.

"Such assistance shall include working with a social service or relocation agency to secure housing for the residents. Applicant shall provide all such assistance to the tenants prior to the demolition of the two buildings," the condition notes.

A final site plan for the project will come forward in the future. Zoning Board member Rosanne McManus said "the public will be able to comment on the actual site plan, on the building design, etc., as we will, too."

Zoning Board Chair David Stein called the proposal "a great project" following the approval of the general development plan.

According to the general development plan, the existing towers would be demolished

The towers each contain 120 residential units, and they're "mostly vacant," according to the developer. The structures were built in 1971 during an urban renewal period. The affordability restrictions on the units in the towers expired around 2010.

"The two existing towers are proposed to be demolished due to longstanding maintenance and environemtnal issues," submitted documents state.

"The proposed development will have 305 units of housing along with ground floor amenity space and potential community space along Tresser Boulevard," the general development plan says.