A developer wants to add 73 more apartments to Bridgeport's Crescent Crossings, proposing a four-story building at 560 Crescent Ave. that would become the 16th structure in the sprawling housing complex built atop the former Father Panik Village site. The plan, known as Phase 1D, would also bring additional parking along Cutter Drive.
Connecticut Community Renewal Associates submitted the proposal, according to the Connecticut Post. The new building would include numerous tenant entrances and a central corridor, and the Planning and Zoning Commission heard the applicant's proposal at its Oct. 26 meeting. The site sits on Bridgeport's east side, on the grounds once occupied by Father Panik Village, a public low-income housing development that has been gradually replaced by the mixed-income Crescent Crossings community.
Crescent Crossings currently has two completed earlier phases, with another phase under construction, per the same account. Phase 3 of the development formally opened last September, further building out a community that has steadily reshaped a once-notorious stretch of the city.
A Shifting Unit Count for the Final Phase
The scope of Phase 1D has changed since it was first floated. Westfair Online reported in coverage of the Phase 1C opening that Phase 1D was expected to bring an additional 90 units to the community, and at that same event, the developer said the plan at the time was to break ground on a fourth section of 90 apartments the following year, according to the Connecticut Post's earlier reporting. The proposal now before the Planning and Zoning Commission calls for 73 additional housing units instead, and the available reporting does not explain the change in scale.
That shrinking number comes after Crescent Crossings had already reached 263 completed homes across three phases following Phase 1C's opening, with 93 units in Phase 1A, 84 in Phase 1B, and 86 in Phase 1C, according to Westfair Online. Accounts of Phase 1C's affordability mix also differ: the Connecticut Post's earlier report said 73 of those 86 units were considered affordable, while Westfair and High-Profile Monthly both described 63 affordable apartments alongside 23 market-rate units. High-Profile Monthly reported that those 63 affordable units were designated for residents earning at or below 60% of the Area Median Income.
Building on Ground Already Cleared
Much of the groundwork for Phase 1D appears to already be in place. Church Street and a parking area have been constructed along the southern side of the site, Cutter Drive has been built in portions, and the area designated for new development was mostly prepared for construction during work on earlier phases, the Connecticut Post reported. Crescent Crossings is part of a broader master development plan for the property at 252 Hallett St.
In a letter to the Zoning Department, applicant attorney Christopher Russo said the proposed development would not have any impact on the Yellow Mill Channel or Long Island Sound. The project continues a pattern of incremental expansion that has included a prior $40 million phase adding 85 units of mixed-income affordable housing, according to the Hartford Business Journal.
Bridgeport's Planning and Zoning Commission heard the proposal on Oct. 26.
