Celebrating Our Darien Portfolio
Redniss & Mead’s team of civil engineers, land surveyors, and planners supports property owners, private developers, and municipalities across Fairfield County to bring transformative land use projects to life. We value the relationships we have cultivated in Darien and are proud of our continued contributions to this vibrant coastal community.
Each project we undertake is informed by the town’s goals, whether revitalizing aging office parks, enhancing public access to waterfront assets, or supporting thoughtful residential growth. From renewing community mainstays to reimagining underutilized properties, our work in Darien reflects a collaborative approach that balances vision, compliance, and execution.
Below are highlights of key projects where we’ve been honored to support Darien’s evolving landscape:
Great Island
One of Darien’s most significant acquisitions in recent history, the 60-acre Great Island property was purchased by the Town for public use and recreation. Redniss & Mead has been a core contributor throughout the acquisition, planning and visioning process.
We’ve provided land surveying, site civil engineering, and zoning consulting services to evaluate site conditions, access needs, and regulatory opportunities and constraints. Our team designed a new two-way entrance driveway to facilitate safe and efficient public access to the site. Currently, we are supporting the Town and Reed Hilderbrand, the lead landscape architecture firm, as they craft a comprehensive master plan for the future of this extraordinary waterfront property. Our role has been to help guide and inform the plan through our local knowledge and expertise in site design and regulatory strategy.
We are proud to be working with the Great Island Advisory Committee, chaired by former First Selectman Monica McNally, whose leadership has been instrumental in moving this important initiative forward.
1 Parklands Drive – LCB Senior Living
This 7.9-acre site, formerly occupied by an outdated office building, was transformed into a much-needed senior living community through the vision of developer Mark DePecol, property owner Bob Gillon, and LCB Senior Living. Redniss & Mead led the zoning entitlement process by drafting and securing a new zoning regulation amendment and zone map change to permit assisted living in the existing office zone.
Our team provided strategic zoning consulting and managed the complex approval process in close coordination with town officials, ensuring that the development aligned with local goals and regulations. The result is LCB Senior Living, a thoughtfully designed community offering independent living, assisted living, and memory care units. EGA Architects provided architectural design for the community, which has become a valued senior housing option in Darien.
Thorndal Circle – High Street Residential Development
In response to shifting commercial real estate trends, property owner Jerry Nielsen sought counsel from Redniss & Mead to understand how this aging suburban office park could be reimagined. After a thorough vetting process, developer High Street Residential was selected based on their bold and thoughtful plan to replace five office buildings with a new residential community.
The plan builds on the success of the new Designed Office Multifamily Residential (DOMR) Overlay Zone, originally written by our team for Parklands Drive, to allow residential use on this previously office-zoned land. The project was approved for 175 apartments, 14% of which will be affordable units, in line with local housing goals.
Redniss & Mead played a critical role by providing land surveys, participating in the entitlement strategy led by Jason Klein of Carmody, Torrance, Sandak & Hennessey LLP, preparing a detailed and thorough sewer capacity analysis, managed by Patrick Shurr, P.E., and assisting with public presentations.
Architectural design and visual renderings were developed by KPGY Architects, whose open-minded collaboration with the Architectural Review Board led to a place-sensitive design securing ARB’s critical endorsement.
Our local knowledge and reputation, close coordination with the team and community stakeholders, and multidisciplinary expertise resulted in approval of this important housing initiative. Construction is expected to begin later this year.
Darien Commons – Federal Realty Investment Trust
Darien Commons, located in the heart of Noroton Heights, is one of the town’s most transformative mixed-use developments, replacing a dated, car-centric retail center with a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly destination that combines multifamily housing, shopping, services, and dining.
Federal Realty Investment Trust selected Redniss & Mead to help their design team bring this ambitious vision to life. R&M served as the project land surveyor, civil engineer, and zoning consultant.
This project required a deep understanding of both the regulatory landscape and the physical site conditions. The zoning groundwork had already been laid by a previous property owner, who helped establish the Noroton Heights Business Zone, but further text amendments and refinements were necessary to make the updated vision possible. We worked closely with project attorney Bruce Hill to shepherd those changes through the Planning & Zoning process.
From an engineering standpoint, one of the most significant challenges was stormwater management. The site is adjacent to a flood-prone area along Heights Road, where runoff and street flooding have long been community concerns. In response, we designed a comprehensive stormwater mitigation and flood storage system that not only met local and state requirements, but also improved existing conditions, reducing the risk of flooding for both the project and its neighbors.
The design by Beinfield Architecture balances New England-style design with modern urban elements, creating a walkable village atmosphere just steps from the Noroton Heights train station. The project adds much-needed housing diversity, retail options, and neighborhood vibrancy, while also prioritizing environmental resilience and sustainable site design.
Darien Commons stands as a model for what thoughtful, transit-adjacent development can achieve when supported by strong planning, expert engineering, and collaboration between private and public partners.
Noroton Yacht Club – Coastal Resilience Meets Historic Legacy
With a history dating back to the 1920s, the Noroton Yacht Club has long been a fixture of the Darien shoreline. After suffering severe damage from Hurricanes Irene (2011) and Sandy (2012), both of which inundated the club’s lower level and rendered many essential spaces unusable, the leadership made the decision to rebuild. Their goal: replace the aging clubhouse with a resilient, future-proof structure that preserves the club’s legacy while complying with modern coastal regulations.
Redniss & Mead was engaged to lead the site-related design and assist with the entitlement process, providing land surveying, site civil engineering, zoning consulting, and coastal permitting and floodplain compliance.
Our local knowledge and technical expertise in flood zone regulations were essential to navigating the complex regulatory environment. The club is located within a flood zone, subject to wave action and stringent FEMA requirements. The new design raised the building’s occupied spaces to a compliant elevation and reimagined the first floor for primarily non-habitable uses, including storage, flood-resistant materials, and building access.
We worked in close collaboration with the project architect, Burgin Lambert Architects, and Carmody, Torrance, Sandak & Hennessey LLP, who led the land use approval process, to secure the necessary entitlements from the Town. These included zoning variances for waterfront setbacks and ground-floor use, Planning & Zoning Commission coastal site plan and special permit approval, and Architectural Review Board endorsement.
The variances were critical, as the original club did not conform to current setbacks, and special exceptions were required for features such as first-floor restrooms in a flood zone. Coordination with the surrounding residential neighborhood also played a key role in gaining support from the regulatory agencies.
The result is a modernized, code-compliant facility that elevates the safety and longevity of the club while retaining its connection to place. Today, the Noroton Yacht Club is better prepared for future storms and continues to serve as a treasured gathering space for generations of members and their families.
Noroton Presbyterian Church – Phased Redevelopment Guided by Purpose
A long-time client of Redniss & Mead, Noroton Presbyterian Church, has thoughtfully reimagined and modernized its facilities over the past decade through a series of phased campus improvements, each designed to enhance function, safety, and accessibility for its congregation.
Redniss & Mead has provided land surveying, site civil engineering, and permitting services in support of multiple initiatives across the property, including:
• The construction of a new central building that connects the sanctuary and fellowship hall, creating a welcoming, unified entry point
• A full site reconfiguration to improve vehicular circulation and expand parking capacity
• Upgrades to the nursery school and daycare facilities, including relocating outdoor play areas closer to classrooms for improved safety
• The development of a new residence for church staff
• Site improvements at the teen center, including a new sports court and elevated observation deck for youth programs and gatherings
Our work focused not only on functionality and compliance, but also on environmental stewardship. The site’s stormwater system was designed to improve the quality of runoff and prevent downstream impacts on neighboring properties, particularly important given the scale of the upgrades.
Throughout the various phases of the project, we worked closely with church leadership and building committee representatives, as well as land use counsel from Bruce Hill, who helped secure necessary local approvals.
Each improvement was thoughtfully integrated into the larger campus with sensitivity to neighborhood context and community values. The result is a cohesive and modernized campus that better serves the church’s mission while creating a safer, more accessible environment for its youngest and oldest members alike.
These are samples of the many clients R&M works with in Darien, which includes country clubs, single-family homeowners, schools, commercial developments, offices, churches, and senior living communities. The Town of Darien has entrusted us with several peer reviews of land use applications for the planning and zoning commission.
We are proud to play a role in Darien’s suburban renewal, one that values thoughtful design, community engagement, and positive contributions to the town. Our deep local knowledge and multidisciplinary approach help make these projects successful not just for our clients, but for the whole town.
In our upcoming articles, we’ll highlight more communities where we’ve been honored to serve, including Westport, Greenwich, and Stamford.
Learn more about our work in Darien and across Fairfield County by visiting our portfolio.
