The first 60 apartments at The Platform at Naugatuck are complete on a seven-acre downtown site that had stood vacant for years. The project’s location alongside a planned replacement train station makes the development part of a broader effort to bring housing and rail access together in downtown Naugatuck.
Pennrose and The Cloud Co. are developing the project in partnership with the borough, according to Hartford Business Journal. The completed building at 20 Old Firehouse Road has 60 one- and two-bedroom apartments, with units for households earning 30%, 50% and 80% of area median income as well as market-rate apartments, the outlet reports. Amenities include a lounge, fitness center, roof deck, outdoor seating and green space, bicycle storage and on-site laundry. About 3,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space is also included.
A Much Bigger Plan Still to Come
The completed building is the first of three planned 60-unit buildings. At full build-out, The Platform is expected to have 180 apartments and more than 7,000 square feet of commercial space, according to the Hartford Business Journal. Plans also call for a public gathering area with a market plaza, central lawn and gardens.
Pennrose says the project is intended to turn the long-vacant site into a mixed-income, mixed-use development oriented around transit, according to the developer. The planned rail connection is part of the setting for the housing, not a separate addition to the project.
New Train Station Expected to Open in 2027
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is building a new station alongside the development. The station is expected to open in summer 2027 and replace the existing Water Street station, Hartford Business Journal reports. Officials have said the project will improve connections among downtown Naugatuck, commuter rail service and the Naugatuck River Greenway.
What the replacement station is designed to provide
The Connecticut Department of Transportation says the project is intended to improve passenger access for riders on the New Haven Line’s Waterbury Branch, provide full access for all passengers and add parking for more rail commuters in the region. The project will replace Water Street, though CTDOT’s description focuses on these planned improvements rather than a feature-by-feature comparison with the existing station. The borough’s 2023 Plan of Conservation and Development also calls for new housing near public transportation, specifically the future train platform on Parcel B. That planning guidance places The Platform’s location within the borough’s stated approach to housing and transit.
Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess III has described The Platform as a model for putting housing next to rail service, rather than developing the two separately, according to CT News Junkie.
Officials Expected at Ribbon-Cutting
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Monday in downtown Naugatuck to mark completion of the first phase. Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to attend, along with Hess, state housing officials and members of the development team, according to Hartford Business Journal.
Naugatuck is not the only Connecticut community linking downtown redevelopment with rail access. In Windsor Locks, a downtown project launched alongside a new train station, with 120 apartments planned and 70 in its first phase, according to Connecticut Public. In Naugatuck, two more phases would bring the site to 180 apartments.
