The West Hartford Town Council voted Tuesday night to permit a developer to change the use of the Hoffman Summerwood property at 160 Simsbury Road to non-age-restricted multi-family housing, paving the way for the project to move forward.

By Ronni Newton

The Hoffman Summerwood property at 160 Simsbury Road has been given permission to be converted from 108 units of age-restricted housing to 108 units of non-age-restricted housing following a 7-2 vote of the West Hartford Town Council Tuesday night.

All six Democrats voted to approve the application, while Republicans Alberto Cortes and Mary Fay voted against it.

Hoffman Summerwood has been operating as a community for West Hartford residents ages 55 and older for the past quarter century, but the owners, Hebrew Senior Care, announced in March that they planned to close the facility this year, citing changes in the landscape for senior living that have impacted the property’s viability.

Oceanport Realty Capital, LLC and OP 160 Simsbury LLC has contracted to purchase the Hoffman Summerwood property, and requested approval of their plan to modify the existing Special Development District that also encompasses Henley Woods, a 64-unit age-restricted open place condominium complex. The Summerwood property is 9.9 acres of the SDD while Henley Woods is 38.7 acres.

The requested modifications to the SDD include adding 46 additional parking spaces, bringing the total number of spaces to 144, to accommodate the change in use. The ratio is more than required for the number of units.

A year ago, Executive Director Tracey Messina told We-Ha.com that there were 64 residents living at Hoffman Summerwood, including a handful of couples. Some of the residents had live-in caretakers. The property included a fitness center, library, hair salon, chef-run dining room that served Kosher food, and other amenities including gardens. While Summerwood operated as independent senior living, they utilized “ALSA” (Assisted Living Services Agency) to make available additional care for residents on a private-pay basis.

When they announced the closing and impending sale, it was stated that occupancy at Hoffman Summerwood had consistently fallen below 50%, with efforts to increase occupancy unsuccessful amid the market conditions.

There are just seven residents currently living there, the applicant said Tuesday.

Meghan Hope, attorney with Alter, Pearson & Hope, representing the applicant, said “only limited architectural changes” are planned to the three-story property, primarily replacing an overhead garage door on the west side of the property with French doors that will access a newly-constructed plaza and outdoor courtyard, re-activating what was previously a service area and loading dock.

The plaza and courtyard areas, according to Hope’s application letter to the Town Council, will include amenities such as a pergola, cafe tables, outdoor kitchen, and a reflecting pool with benches, hammocks, and Adirondack chairs. The plaza will also include tables with umbrellas, lounge furniture, and fire tables.

Landscape architect Samantha Stewart of SLR Consulting, said the outdoor space will be a quite space for relaxation, “much more aesthetically pleasing than the loading dock that is there today.”

New trees will be planted surrounding the expanded parking area, as well as along Simsbury Road and in other areas.

A 1,250 square foot dog walk area will also be added on the property as an amenity for the residents.

The 108,000 square foot building is approved to have 108 units, although some had been converted to other uses to service the residents. The developer does not plan to change the number of units.

“We really like the property. It has great bones. It’s a very attractive building in a great location,” said Jeremy Browning, principal with Glastonbury-based Oceanport Realty Capital. At a public hearing held just before the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, Browning said his company selectively purchases what they believe is high-quality housing, and currently manages 2,500 units with roughly 1,000 more in some phase of development. They learned about the proposed sale of the Hoffman Summerwood property from the broker, and thought it would be a good fit for their portfolio, which includes Tellus Green and Tellus Bloom in Bloomfield, Highcroft Apartments in Simsbury, Capewell Lofts in Hartford, and Harbor Heights in Mystic.

Browning said the rental market is very strong in Central Connecticut, and they plan to take care of deferred maintenance, update the interiors of the units, add amenities appropriate for a demographic that will include people of all ages, and turn the 160 Simsbury Road property “into something that we think will thrive.”

Architect Tim Geitz of Geitz Design Associates told the Council that most of the work was done by the architect who designed the original building – a shingle style that is one of his favorites. “The skin of the building will remain,” he said, but they will replace the worn siding and trim, and repair sidewalks, and add French doors and new windows in the what was the service area. Most of the building is already ADA-compliant.

“Flooring, paint, kitchen cabinets, appliances – it’s really just a refresh,” Geitz said of the updates planned for most of the units.

The current building is designed for 90 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom units. The renovation will keep the 18 two-bedroom units but change the mix to include 84 one-bedroom units and six new three-bedroom units.

Planned interior amenity updates, according to Hope, include a “club room, training kitchen, conference center, Java-Bar, game room, we-work area, wellness spa, fitness center, and library.”

Oceanport has committed to reserving 8% as deed-restricted affordable housing for residents with income at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI). The 8% will proportionately apply to each type of unit, with six of the one-bedroom, two of the two-bedroom, and one of the three-bedroom units, and that requirement was added as a condition of approval with the agreement of the applicant.

Hope also noted that there are plans to pursue funding through the Connecticut Housing Finance Corporation (CHFA) in order to be able to increase the number of affordable units through their Build for CT program. If successful, the percentage of affordable housing would increase to 20%, with rents set by CHFA.

Public comment and Council questions

Chuck Coursey, of Coursey & Company, handled the neighborhood outreach for the applicant, reaching out to owners of property within 500 feet of the overall SDD. Concerns about privacy, sight lines, and noise were addressed in the final proposal which the Council considered Tuesday, and included substituting solid fencing along a berm as a buffer separating the property from Henley Woods, repositioning some of the parking spaces, and adding fencing as well as Douglas firs and Norway spruce trees to buffer the completely-fenced dog walk area that is already 250 feet from the Steeplechase development to the northeast.

At its height, Coursey said that Summerwood had a staff of 75, while this new community will employ just an onsite property manager and maintenance person. Leases will contain strong language about noise control, he said.

Coursey also noted that similar concerns had been raised during a lengthy hearing about the construction of 243 Steele Road more than a decade ago, and they proved unwarranted. While there are roughly 200 units on Steele Road, he said there are only five children attending West Hartford Public Schools.

In an email, nearby resident Jacob Weil expressed concern that the “conversion of this property from an age-restricted community to general multi-family housing disrupts the original intent of this development and may affect the stability and quality of life for many current residents.”

Mary Ellen Nichols, speaking on behalf of Henley Woods resident Susan Breitman, also expressed concern about eliminating the age restriction.

The Chamber of Commerce sent an email letter in support of the application.

The decision to close Hoffman Summerwood was made long before his company got involved, Browning told the Council in response to a question about maintaining the property as an age-restricted development. “We welcome all age groups,” he said, and according to their market analysis they think young professionals will also want to live there and excluding age groups is not the right choice for the property.

Regarding a question about trash collection, Browing said they utilize a company that provides trash valet service, picking up containers daily outside of each unit, and only the collection company then utilizes the outside dumpster, which will be emptied two of three times a week depending on need.

Browning said they hope to close on the property within 60 to 90 days, and because the work to be done will be spread among different vendors, they hope to “deliver the first few units in the spring of 2026.”

There will be a plan for bike storage, but the details are not yet determined, Browning said in response to a question from Council member Carol Blanks.

Fay asked if Oceanport had considered turning the units into condominiums rather than rental units, but Browning said the rental market is more certain, and a “very stable market, very desirable market” in this area, noting that the projects his company manages have a 96% occupancy rate across the portfolio. These units are different from the new-build projects being developed elsewhere around West Hartford, he added.

Regarding traffic, Tom Daly of SLR Consulting said because of the change of the nature of the property there will no longer be large shifts of employees coming and going. While there will be more parking spaces and more residents with cars, he said the traffic flow will be “much more mediated” with less traffic at peak times.

Town Manager Rick Ledwith said that the town is working with the Department of Transportation on traffic calming plans, but Simsbury Road will be one of the locations where there will be a speed camera installed.

The units will have individual HVAC systems, and they will mostly be retaining the existing systems, Browning said in response to a question from Mayor Shari Cantor.

The application has been unanimously recommended by the Design Review Advisory Committee on May 29, noting that the landscaping was of high quality, the “added parking and amenity spaces are appropriately located to maximize retention of existing green space and mature landscaping, while also minimizing added impervious areas,” and that the proposed use as multi-family housing is a sensible re-use of the property.

The Town Plan & Zoning Commission (TPZ) in its capacity as the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency unanimously approved a wetlands and watercourses permit during a special meeting on June 23, and TPZ also unanimously recommended approval to the Town Council, “finding it consistent with, and furthering, the overall vision the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), and in particular the Neighborhoods and Housing section goal to: ‘Enhance and maintain West Hartford’s existing neighborhoods and encourage diversity of housing types and costs to provide access and availability of housing options to current and future residents.’”

The majority of Council members, in voicing their support before voting to approve, praised the plans to convert and repurpose the property, but a few said they struggled with removing the age restriction.

Cortes, who eventually voted against it, said while there were many positives about the application, the “missing middle, the seniors” would be the losers.

Fay, who also voted against it, said it was “intriguing” that there was minimal opposition or comments at the public hearing, but was concerned about removing the age restriction.

Tiffani McGinnis said, “It’s a real good use of an existing development,” noting especially how nice the three-bedroom units look.

Blanks said she understands the need for housing for those 55 and older, but there are also young people looking to move to town and often after renting find a house they can afford to buy in West Hartford. “I really do think this would be a really good fut, and this existing structure would be really good for a repurpose,” she said.

Deb Polun said approving this project “is one of the easiest decisions we have ever had to make,” adding that while it is disappointing Summerwood was not able to continue operations, having two- and three-bedroom spaces available is a recommendation of the town’s Senior Citizens Advisory Committee.

“This could work for 55-plus and could be very attractive for many people … but it’s inclusive, not exclusive,”  Cantor said. It’s a high quality project, she added. “What a wonderful way to add new homes and new life.”

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