Town Green Village pushing its boundaries

At council’s urging, developer takes steps to make some
condos more affordable
by BERT WILLIAMS, News Editor
The Windsor Town Council got an update in January on developer
Orrin Thiessen’s plans for future phases of Town Green Village.
Though not completely satisfied with all the details of what they
heard, councilmembers expressed considerable pleasure at current
progress and future prospects for the massive downtown project that
is just beginning to take shape alongside the Town Green.
Thiessen said construction is accelerating, and he provided an
overview of four more phases that will leapfrog across Windsor Road
to the west, Windsor River Road to the south and Bell Road to the
north.
“A lot of things have developed just in the last couple of
months,” Thiessen told the council, describing properties recently
purchased and one currently in escrow. “We’re hoping to build about
50 units a year now. Every building gets a little smoother and a
little faster.”
In conversations following the council meeting, Thiessen said
working drawings have been completed for phase three of the
development, and ground will be broken this spring for that project
on the west side of Windsor Road. Phase three will include a
mission-style “flat iron” building on the corner of Windsor River
and River Roads. It will incorporate the town’s intermodal
transportation hub alongside three-story mixed-use buildings.
Further back in the development will be more than a dozen
zero-lot-line row houses. Thiessen estimates that, if on the market
today, the row houses would be priced between $275,000 and
$350,000.
Construction has already begun on phase four, which will include
a clock tower across Windsor River Road from the McDonald’s
restaurant. Steel beams are already springing up there. The
commercial space in phase four will be devoted primarily to
professional offices. Thiessen expects the building to include a
dental office, a hair salon, an insurance agent, an accountant, a
real estate company and perhaps an optometrist. “There are more
people on the list than we can handle there,” he said.
Town Green Village has recently purchased two parcels along the
south side of Windsor Road. The purchases make it possible to tie
together phases four and five in a unified whole that will stretch
from Conde Lane to Bell Road and along both sides of Johnson Street
to the south of Windsor River Road. The existing Pacific Bell
building will be surrounded by the new development. Thiessen said
the phone company plans to renovate the building with a new mission
style facade that will fit well with the buildings around it.
“The entire block will have pedestrian-friendly access,”
Thiessen said, noting that Windsor River Road will have “urban
facades all the way down the street, except for McDonald’s.” Each
three-story mixed-use building will feature a different
architectural style, including Italianate, mission, Victorian and
Spanish revival.
On the south side of Johnson Street there will be more
three-story mixed-use buildings. These will include elevators and
feature residential flats rather than multi-level condominiums.
With professional offices on the ground floor, these buildings will
be especially suitable for seniors and handicapped residents.
Phase six will rise up west of McDonald’s, between Windsor River
Road and McClelland Drive. It will include the property currently
occupied by the Unity Spiritual Center. Town Green Village has
recently completed an agreement with the congregation that includes
a land swap. The church will get a three-acre parcel in the Shiloh
area where they will construct a new church building.
The details of phase six are not yet worked out, but Thiessen
said he has recently come to a “handshake agreement” with Darlene
Walley who operates the Villa Terra Bella bread and breakfast on
the outskirts of Windsor. Walley has proposed a boutique hotel for
phase six that will include approximately 10 luxury suites.
Thiessen expects phase six will also include a day spa, a gym and
another restaurant. He would like to see a small movie theater
incorporated into the development. “But I certainly can’t guarantee
that.” he said.
At the council meeting on Jan. 21, it was phase five that
generated the most discussion.
Thiessen told the council that the project, slated to begin in
the spring of 2005, had been designed to include 59 residences, 29
of which would be the flats in the Johnson Street buildings,
ranging in size from 1,500 to 1,600 square feet. This brought
several responses from the council.
“We’re going to have a lot of pressure to provide some
affordable housing,” said councilmember Sam Salmon.
“We’re paying incredible land prices and we’re building
expensive buildings,” Thiessen replied. “Affordable housing can’t
be done building these kinds of buildings.”
Mayor Pro Tem Steve Allen joined Salmon in the concern over
affordability. Allen suggested the possibility of a “density bonus”
that would allow more residences to be built on the site.
“Could you build more and smaller units, with one car garages?”
Allen asked.
Councilmember Lynn Morehouse echoed the need for lower-priced
units. “It doesn’t need to be just for seniors,” she said. “It can
be for young families … I am going to look for something different
than is offered here.”
Councilmember Steve Scott and Mayor Debora Fudge also weighed in
on the side of increased density and smaller, lower-priced units.
But Fudge also lauded overall progress. “Every single day people
say to me, ‘What you’ve done has changed Windsor,'” said Fudge.
Thiessen told the council that he was, indeed, willing to
re-design floor plans to create more smaller units in phase
five.
During a subsequent conversation, he said he had been initially
frustrated by the council’s response, until they came up with the
solution that allowed for more residential units to be created in
phase five. He said last week that he has already re-drawn the
floor plans.
“There are now seven extra units,” he said. “There were 59. Now
there are 66. Half are smaller two-bedroom units with one-car
garages.” The smaller units will range between 1,150 and 1,300
square feet. “We feel good about it,” Thiessen said.
There are already nine seniors on a waiting list for flats in
the phase five buildings. “By the time we get them built,” Thiessen
said. “we’ll have the whole thing sold out.”