Redniss & Mead guided the transformation of a longtime nonconforming industrial contractor’s yard into a new senior living community for LCB Senior Living. The property, once home to Kowalsky Brothers’ operations, sits immediately adjacent to the 113 Post Road East redevelopment, and Redniss & Mead initially shepherded approvals for a 42-unit mixed-use housing project for Coastal Construction. When LCB identified the site as ideal for a senior living facility, our team helped transition the approvals, including multiple zoning text amendments. Working closely with the Planning & Zoning Commission, we drafted and advanced the regulatory framework to accommodate this type of housing, while also addressing the town’s affordable housing requirements. In a creative off-site solution, LCB funded the purchase of two single-family homes by Housing Development Fund, which were deed-restricted as affordable units.
From an engineering standpoint, the site presented significant challenges. A brook mapped on FEMA flood maps ran through the property, but decades of contractor activity had altered the landform, leaving outdated and inaccurate flood boundaries. Redniss & Mead prepared a series of LOMR and CLOMR applications to FEMA, remapping the floodplain and floodway to reflect current conditions. This required detailed flood modeling and repeated coordination with FEMA, as the building footprint initially lay within the regulatory flood zone. In addition, the project demanded full civil design services, including grading, stormwater management, utilities, sanitary sewer, and erosion controls. Wetland impacts created by prior site disturbance were also addressed through restoration and enhancement.
The LCB design team included The Architectural Team (TAT). Completed after one of the most challenging zoning and engineering review processes in Westport, the project stands as a model of how collaboration, regulatory innovation, and technical expertise can deliver community-serving, diverse housing on a site once considered too difficult to develop.