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Initial plans for the proposed Alden Terrace project were presented to the town Planning Board on Wednesday. The plans calls for 30.22 acres to be developed along Main Street near state Route 23 and Matthew Simons Road, according to engineer Brett Steenburgh.
Steenburgh said the project would include about 140 housing units of various types, retail and office space and two restaurants. He said there would be a 6,000-square-foot dine-in restaurant and a 4,000-square-foot fast-food restaurant with a drive-through lane.
The housing would include townhouses with a base sales price of $200,000 to $250,000, apartments for senior citizens and "workforce" housing, Steenburgh said. He said the townhouses would be one-, 1{- and two-story units. Workforce housing would be for people who earn less than 80 percent of the local median income, said attorney Donald Zee.
Steenburgh said developer Charles Maggio, of Charles Frank and Associates, plans to provide a community green as part of the project and also to have a clubhouse with a meeting area and fitness room. He said the housing units would be maintenance-free and run by a homeowners' association.
Zee said the 2000 Census showed a need for new housing in Cairo and that the development would generate property and sales taxes while putting a minimum burden on local schools. There could be approximately 40 school-aged children living in the development once it is built, Zee said.
According to a statement from Cairo Supervisor Joseph Calcavecchia's office, town and county officials, including a majority of the Town Board, have been working on the proposed $50 million project since October 2006. The statement also said the supervisor has been in contact with state Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, to obtain funding to upgrade the town's water and sewer infrastructure to accommodate the proposed project and future development.
"In addition to quality-of-life and aesthetic values for the town, the economic benefits afforded to the area by this project are estimated at $200,000 in property tax revenues and $450,000 in school tax generation per year with minimal impact on school district resources," the supervisor's statement said.
Zee said Maggio helped pay for the town's water and sewer studies and would bear the cost for extending those services to his site. He also said Maggio has been contacted by several national retailers who would not commit to moving into the development unless there was municipal water and sewer service available.
"We recognize that we have to do a lot of environmental reviews and environmental studies," Zee said, citing the need to examine traffic and stormwater management, among other things.
On Thursday, Town Board candidate Janet Schwarzenegger said it was unfortunate that residents and Councilwoman Alice Tunison were kept in the dark about the town's meetings regarding the project.
"It would have been proper for the board members involved in the talks to report to the board during regular open board meetings so the whole board and public would have been kept up to date on the progress, issues and extent of the project," Schwarzenegger said.
Tunison could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
