New Developer Revives Stalled Housing Project

0:00It's April 28th. You're listening to Hartford News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Corey with The Story. A new developer just stepped up to revive a long-stalled housing project in Simsbury, Connecticut. G&F Associates, run by Headeth Fishman and Paul Goldschman, bought the 28-acre site off Hoskins Road through foreclosure last November. They're rebranding it, Copper Hill estates, and filing plans to finish the 79-unit workforce development, keeping 20% affordable. For families making up to 80% of the area, median income, the project grounds to a halt in 2023, under the old developer, Sunlight Construction, who got hit with lawsuits from banks, contractors, and buyers over money woes. Town officials flagged major infrastructure gaps like missing stormwater systems, roads and sidewalks, leaving partial builds sitting idle since the original approval back in 2015. Local planning staff have been working closely with the new team for months to iron

1:00out those messes. This means real progress for the neighborhood, closing the loop on code violations, and unfinished work that frustrated everyone involved. Key tweaks in the plan include a three-phase rollout tied to fixing that infrastructure first, swapping 14 duplex units for single-family homes. Without changing the total count, prioritizing four affordable units early to catch up, and updating landscaping. They're also dropping a required off-site sidewalk to Hot Metal Street, which staff say went beyond standard rules. This only commission takes this up for review on May 4th, so eyes are on whether this finally gets homes built and families housed in Simsbury.