Wildwood Condo Development Could Change to Apartments

Wildwood could soon see another apartment complex within its city limits after a project on Manchester Road initially envisioned to house condominiums is seeking several changes in order to improve its marketability.

It would be only the third true apartment complex in the city and the request from Covert-Corsair Properties, the owners of the 11 acre tract, prompted some discussion during a city council meeting June 10.

Parks Director Joe Vujnich presented the request and explained that the development, located on the north side of Manchester just west of Taylor Road, was originally approved six years ago as a primarily residential development with 168 condo units along with two 20,000 square-foot commercial buildings.

The property owners are now asking for an 18-month extension on their required construction start date, pushing it back to January 2015, and requesting that it be shifted from owner-occupied condominiums to rental apartments.

 “They have determined that having condos as the sole residential use on the property limits its desirability,” Vujnich said.

Speaking to the council, owner Mary Kay Corsair said the reasons for her request were fairly straightforward. They had purchased and developed the property on the eve of the economic collapse in 2007.

The recession has turned “condominium” in to a bit of a dirty word in the real estate market. Banks won’t finance and developers won’t build unless the ordinance that governs the property also allows for apartments, Corsair said.

“It is a simple word, apartments, but in this case it means so much,” said Corsair, who is not looking to develop the property herself, but rather to sell it.

However, that part of her requested amendment to the development’s ordinance did not receive the approval of the city’s planning and zoning commission.

“There was a feeling that apartments create potential problems for an area due to the transient nature of the occupants,” Vujnich said.

Several council members expressed support for the change. Ed Marshall noted that it is “short-sighted to say that renting isn’t a way of the future” and could serve as housing for corporate transferees.

Part of his job entails corporate re-location and he said business are averse to putting their people in condos because of the liabilities they can include.

Susan Collinae pointed to the amount of foreclosures in the area and said apartments could serve as an option for people who wanted to stay in Wildwood.

“I don’t think we realized how many people were in trouble right here in our own community,” she said.

Paul Wojciechowski said they would bring welcome diversity to the city. For example, he said if his son wanted to move out of their house, he wouldn’t be able to afford staying in Wildwood.

In the end, a motion to prepare legislation amending the ordinance to include the two changes passed by a vote of 12-2 with council members Tammy Shea and David Geile opposed. This sets the stage for a possible final vote on the two requests later this month at a June 24 meeting.