The site of a long-closed drive-in movie theater will become 164 rental homes for senior citizens, with a complex of four-story apartment buildings along with 24 townhouses.
UBH Senior LLC, a division of United Group of Properties, plans to start building The Arbella at Blue Hills in Bloomfield next year on the 10-acre property along busy Blue Hills Avenue.
The homes will be restricted to tenants ages 55 and older, and UBH said that 10 percent will be priced to qualify as affordable housing.
In its proposal to the town, UBH said the development would have benefits for the community.
“Bloomfield, like much of the Greater Hartford area, is experiencing a housing shortage. This development will add well over 100 housing units,” according to a memo from BL Properties, consulting engineer on the project. “Over time, as seniors relocate to this facility and downsize from their current homes, that will free up additional housing for families.”
The town’s zoning commission recently approved UBH’s proposal, with commissioners concluding it meets Bloomfield’s long-term development plan.
The property, which is about a quarter-mile south of Cottage Grove Road, has sat as an vacant lot for years, BL Properties noted.
“This property is a perfect site for this style development as it does not require removal
of significant trees or forest areas, but instead redevelops a lot that has sat largely vacant for many years,” BL said in its memo to the zoning commission. “The project will take the largely dirt and gravel lot it is today and transform it into a vibrant and lively senior living community.”
The United Group runs senior living and multifamily apartment complexes in New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia, and has built $4 billion worth projects over its half-century in business, according to Jeffrey Smetana, its chief development officer.
The Bloomfield project will be three four-story apartment buildings with a total of 70 one-bedroom units and 70 two-bedroom units. In addition, BL plans 24 townhouse homes. In all, 17 will be leased at affordable rents, with the other 147 going at market rate.
Smetana said UBH’s property management arm offers an extensive list of services and attractions for its senior citizen tenants, emphasizing that The Arbella will be an active senior living community.
“It’s really a high level of programming. This is not just rental housing with a small clubhouse and a couple of treadmills and a kitchen,” he said.
“The variety of unit types — apartments and townhouses — gives us a very broad range in ages of prospective residents,” he said. “The townhomes will be for younger seniors who may not be ready for apartment living.”
The property at 885 Blue Hills Ave. was once the Blue Hills Drive-In, a one-screen operation with a snack bar and concession stand that opened in 1952 with a capacity of 750 cars. It closed in the mid-’70s.
BL’s plan is to build a driveway running around the property and serving the separate buildings. It will have a network of sidewalks leading to a center clubhouse to encourage residents to walk. There will be a gazebo, gardens, bocci courts and pickleball near the clubhouse.
“Our programs are really designed to draw residents out of their homes,” Smetana said. “The townhouses will be for younger seniors who may not be ready for apartment living yet.”
