The proposed Grange development is at the wetlands-permit stage, before any special-use permit decision. It would add 223 homes to roughly 80 acres of farmland between Sandy Hollow and Noank Ledyard roads in Mystic, on land zoned Residential RS-20 and adjoining existing homes and the Pequot Woods nature preserve. Plans call for phased construction, a community building, sidewalks, internal roadways and renovated farm structures.
Southbury-based Sandy Hollow Development LLC and EG Home LLC have applied for a wetlands permit, according to the Hartford Courant. The farmland is owned by JJJ Realty of Mystic LLC. The application is the first test of a zoning option the Planning & Zoning Commission approved for EG Home in June 2026. It allows this type of community by special permit on properties of at least 20 acres in residential RS, R and RU zones, if at least 25% of the land is preserved as open space. The Grange plan sets aside 39% of the site, or 32 acres.
Neighbors’ Concerns Focus on Water, Traffic and Rural Character
Frank Barravecchia, who bought his Sandy Hollow Road home 41 years ago for its rural atmosphere, told the Courant he relies on well water and is concerned about the development’s proximity to wetlands and potential effects on his well and the aquifer. The Courant quoted him saying, “It's going to destroy open space that can never be reclaimed.” He also raised concerns about increased traffic.
The Courant also reported that resident Steve Turner, who uses a well and septic system with a leach field, worries about traffic, light pollution and possible damage to his well and septic system. He described the area around his home as quiet and the parcel as one of Mystic’s last remaining pieces of farmland. The concerns come amid broader farmland losses: New London County has roughly 67,000 agricultural acres remaining after Connecticut lost 460 farms and 10,000 acres of farmland statewide between 2017 and 2022, according to USDA 2024 Census of Agriculture data reported by CT Examiner.
The Review Process Ahead
The Inland Wetlands Agency is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 21, at the Town Hall Annex, where the applicant is slated to present the project and commission members will discuss what they observed during an October 3 site walk, per the Courant's report. The agency reviews potential impacts on wetlands, and if it grants the permit, the developer still must apply for a special use permit from the Planning & Zoning Commission, which would require a public hearing and would weigh traffic concerns separately. Deb Jones, the town's deputy director of planning and development services, is among the officials tracking the application through that pipeline.
Local conservation advocates aren't waiting for that hearing. On October 5, they urged the Groton Conservation Commission to scrutinize The Grange for density and wetland impacts, prompting commissioners to schedule a review for their November agenda, according to Citizen Portal. That advisory push follows a separate defeat for residents: the Planning & Zoning Commission voted in late July to deny a citizen-submitted zoning text amendment that had sought to tighten open space definitions and expand abutter notification distances for this type of community, according to meeting records from the Town of Groton.
What the Conservation Records Show
The Town of Groton Conservation Commission’s September 2024 inventory counted 6,023 acres of protected and preserved open space townwide, or 29.6% of the town’s land area, according to the commission’s inventory. That townwide figure does not establish the Grange parcel’s protection status or provide a comparison with earlier open-space proposals. For the wetlands review, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says construction near wetlands may affect them and notes that many towns regulate activity in designated surrounding areas. The guidance describes the potential for impacts; it does not determine how Groton will rule on this application.
Housing Demand Collides With Land Preservation
The development pressure in Groton traces directly to General Dynamics Electric Boat's hiring surge, with the shipbuilder aiming to add 8,000 workers in 2026 alone. A Department of Defense-funded study estimates that push could drive demand for up to 18,000 new housing units across southeastern Connecticut by 2035, per the Hartford Business Journal. During spring hearings on the zoning tool itself, the developer's attorney cited Electric Boat's hiring and a need for 6,500 additional housing units in Groton over the next decade, the Courant reported — a figure that aligns with municipal housing market studies showing the town facing roughly that same deficit to accommodate workforce growth and shrinking household sizes.
Residents who spoke at those spring hearings raised many of the same objections now surfacing over The Grange: traffic, overdevelopment, farmland loss and changes to rural residential character. The commission nonetheless found the new zoning tool consistent with the town's Plan of Conservation and Development, stating it conserves natural resources while allowing housing types that address local demand. An open-space common-interest community can include single-unit, two-unit and three-unit housing, accessory dwelling units, and up to 5,000 square feet of commercial space for residents, with homeowners managing a shared common lot through an association.
A Developer With a Growing Footprint
EG Home already has several projects on the ground in the region, including the 23-home Riverside Reserve in East Lyme, the 58-unit Enclave at Barn Island in Pawcatuck, and 18 units known as The Junction off Palmer Street, also in Pawcatuck. The company is also pursuing a separate 64-unit townhouse proposal on 13.6 acres in New Haven's East Shore neighborhood, which advanced to a public hearing in July, according to the Hartford Business Journal. Public real estate disclosures reviewed by Seaport Real Estate Services show the firm holds the listing for the Noank Ledyard Road parcel, with EG Home holding it under purchase contract.
EG Home, Sandy Hollow Development and JJJ Realty of Mystic could not immediately be reached for comment, the Courant reported. For now, the fate of the farmland rests with the Inland Wetlands Agency's upcoming meeting, followed by whatever special permit process and public hearing may come next if the wetlands permit clears.
