In 2018, clients Anthony Gaglio Jr. and Sr. of Viking Construction bought a property containing a unique house built in 1880 near the Norwalk Hospital. The original house was in significant disrepair and additions added in the 1970’s were ill-considered and detracted from its character. Their vision was to return the Victorian home to its past luster and replace the addition with sensitively designed new apartments that could help support the rehabilitation of the home. In the beginning of the project, however, zoning regulations prohibited the best scenario for the developers. Redniss & Mead was brought on as a zoning consultant to work with regulatory authorities and find a path forward. The solution was to create a new zoning regulation in the D-Residence Zone allowing Historic Preservation Incentive Developments. The regulation provided additional residential density and alternate incentive standards for projects that resulted in the preservation of a home listed on a local historic resource inventory. This helped balance the costly renovation of the original home with the increase in revenue realized from the new apartments. The result was the beautiful transformation of a unique property with an eye-catching street presence that offers an innovative residential experience with 19 residential units and views of Long Island Sound from a common rooftop terrace.
“It was a pleasure working with Viking Construction on the adaptive reuse and renovation of this historic home”, said Craig Flaherty, P.E., President of Redniss & Mead, who was responsible for writing the zoning tax amendment and managing the zoning approval process including the text amendment, site plan, and special permit applications. Redniss & Mead’s professionalism, reputation, and relationships helped in securing approvals from the Norwalk Historical Commission, Planning Commission, and Zoning Commission.
Key collaborators on the project were Michael Weissbrod at Crosskey Architects, Tod Bryant of Heritage Resources and Jason Klein of Carmody, Torrance, Sandak and Hennessey, LLP.
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