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Game-Changing Retail/Housing Complex Breaks Ground In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Developers broke ground Tuesday on a 140,000-square-foot “transit-oriented” apartment/retail complex on Commerce Drive that is likely to be a game changer for the area within walking distance of Fairfield Metro train station.

Fairfield breaks ground on a new apartment/retail complex on Commerce Drive. Video credit: Meredith Guinness

Photo Credit: Meredith Guinness
An artist's rendering of the retail/apartment complex planned for 665 Commerce Drive in Fairfield

An artist's rendering of the retail/apartment complex planned for 665 Commerce Drive in Fairfield

Photo Credit: Contributed image
Developers and dignitaries break ground on 665 Commerce Drive in Fairfield.

Developers and dignitaries break ground on 665 Commerce Drive in Fairfield.

Photo Credit: Meredith Guinness
Construction begins at 665 Commerce Drive, next to the headquarters of Bigelow Tea, right.

Construction begins at 665 Commerce Drive, next to the headquarters of Bigelow Tea, right.

Photo Credit: Meredith Guinness

“It’s going to be absolutely beautiful,” said Cindi Bigelow, CEO of Bigelow Tea, whose office in the company headquarters overlooks the site next door.

Abbey Road Advisors, Skala Partners and ELV Associates, Inc. partnered to develop 665 Commerce Drive, the site of the former Fitness Edge at the corner of Black Rock Turnpike.

The complex will include 101 apartments, some of the first housing in an area Fairfield hopes will become a burgeoning neighborhood for both young professionals and empty nesters looking to be close to retail shops and public transportation.

Construction is scheduled to be complete by Spring 2017.

“This will be a live/work/play environment that is so natural to the town of Fairfield,” said Mark Keeney, a partner in Abbey Road Advisors. “We are excited about this project.”

The development is projected to provide 125 to 150 construction jobs and 30 to 50 permanent jobs. It will offer nearly 15,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and four stories of apartments, including four studios, 73 one-bedroom units and 24 two-bedroom units.

The project will include an amenities deck with a swimming pool, fitness center, bocce court and gardens and an on-site covered garage.

Eleven of the apartments will be designated affordable housing, Keeney said.

The project is not connected with the original plans for the area around the train station, which have yet to come to fruition, said Aristedes Koutouvides, a principal in Skala Partners.

First Selectman Michael Tetreau said he’s happy to put the 2.5-acre site back on town tax rolls and to begin to develop the area around the Fairfield Metro Station. He thanked town leaders for approving new transit-oriented development zoning, which allow for higher-density projects where appropriate.

“This is an exciting day,” he said. “This really is part of the vision of our town’s future.”

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