Fairfield County builder, Martin Handshy has lived in Ridgefield all his life. “I moved here in 1963 when I was in 1st grade. I graduated from Ridgefield High School. My wife is from Ridgefield and my kids went to school here and graduated here,” said Handshy.
Now Handshy is eager to leave an indelible mark in the town he has come to know and love.
Handshy, a partner of Brookfield based Charter Group, wants to purchase 10 acres off Sunset Lane for 4.3 million and build 54 age-restricted (55 plus) condominium units on half of that acreage. “The other half will be open space,” explains Handshy. The housing, similar to the Charter Groups Newbury Village, consists of well appointed “Coach Homes” and larger “Townhouse” style homes. The purchase price for those homes would begin at approximately $450K (see project plan below). Handshy is committed to keeping it local. "We are using Ridgefield Supply for the building materials," he says.
“It’s about aging in place,” says Handshy. And for Handshy, it hits close to home. “My parents had a 4 bedroom house in Ridgefield and when the kids were grown and out, there was anything in Ridgefield appropriate for them so they ended up leaving town.”
Handshy is working hard to share his vision and building plans with Ridgefielders. “I want educate people about what we all about, what we are proposing to build, and how if fulfills a need,” explains Handshy, who is holding several information sessions that are open to all town residents. “We want to get people to take interest and to learn about this so they can make an educated decision on February 24,” he says.
The next Information Session is this Saturday, January 31 in the lower level of Town Hall at 10:00 (please see complete list of Information Sessions below) and the Town Referendum is scheduled for February 24.
Interested residents are also welcome to visit Newbury Village in Brookfield to see first-hand what the housing development, complete with elevators and heated garages, will look and feel like.
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01/31/2015- Saturday:10:00am – 12:00noon- Ridgefield Town Hall – Large Conference Room
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02/04/201 - Wednesday: 7:30pm – 8:30pm- Ridgefield Town Hall – Large Conference Room
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02/12/2015- Thursday: 3:00pm – 4:00pm- Founders Hall (Information session sponsored by Charter Group Partners, LLC)
- 02/21/2015- Saturday: 10:00am – 12:00noon- Ridgefield Library – Lower Level (Information session sponsored by Charter Group Partners, LLC)
Proposed Project:
54 Homes comprised of 45 Coach Homes and 9 Townhouses (100% of the homes will be 55+ age restricted)
• Ridgefield has 9200+ housing units of which 7,000 have a sales price of less than $700,000.00 (many 55+ seniors will be able to sell their home and move to a Coach Home which will have a lower cost)
45 Coach Homes – 3 Buildings of 15 homes each.
- Heated garage on basement level. o 3 Floors with 5 homes on each floor.
- 3 Floor plans that range from 1466 sf to 1741 sf.
- Elevator access to all levels o All floor plans have 2 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms.
- ADA adaptable homes. o Selling prices to start in the mid $400,000’s.
9 Town Homes – 3 Buildings of 3 homes each.
- 2 Car garage.
- 3 Bedrooms with 2-full bathrooms and 1-½ bathroom.
- 2 Floor plans with a 1st floor master suite.
- Loft with bedroom & full bath o Approximately 2500sf.
- Clubhouse and Meeting Room
- Exercise Room
Knowledge is power! Head to one of the Information Session to learn about this project!
See what Brookfield's Newbury Village looks like here.