LMC Breaks Ground on Luxury Connecticut Community
The subsidiary of Lennar Corp. has started work on The Smyth, a 414-unit multifamily property that will rise 15 stories in central Stamford. The building is scheduled to welcome its first residents in 2021.
The Smyth. Rendering courtesy of LMC
A major new luxury apartment community is taking shape in the fastest-growing city in Connecticut. Apartment developer LMC, a subsidiary of Lennar Corp., has recently broken ground on The Smyth, a 414-unit high-rise property in central Stamford that is scheduled to deliver its first units in the summer of 2021.
Located at 885 Washington Boulevard, near the intersection with Tresser Boulevard, the 15-story community across from city hall replaces one of the three cylindrical towers of the St. John affordable housing project. The aging tower was torn down earlier this year.
Upon completion, The Smyth will provide 19,330 square feet of retail space and three stories of garage parking in addition to high-end homes. The apartments will range from 574 to 2,065 square feet, with an average size of 854 square feet, and will come in layouts ranging from studios to three bedrooms. Den layouts and two-story penthouses will also be offered.
Amenities will include a landscaped rooftop deck with pool and sundeck, outdoor lounges with fire pits, a fitness center and resident clubhouse. The project will also capitalize on the increasing popularity of co-working by offering mezzanine-level workspaces for residents, including private offices and conference functions.
“[We] are confident that The Smyth will become the premier high-rise apartment building in Stamford,” commented Greg Belew, division president of the New York/Tri-State area for LMC, to Multi-Housing News.
More homes for NYC suburb
The Smyth construction site.
The Smyth is located a short walk from the Metro-North Railroad, which can whisk commuters to New York City’s Grand Central Terminal in as little as 51 minutes. The walkable site also provides access to downtown Stamford’s retail, dining and entertainment scene, and is close to Interstate 95.
“We believe that we have the best of all locations in the area, being only one block from the liveliest collection of bars and restaurants, two blocks from the train station, and only minutes from the beauty of the Long Island Sound and other attractions,” noted Belew.
The 17-story tower that previously stood on the site had been vacant for years, although the other two towers in the St. John development are still occupied. LMC will provide $4.3 million to St. John Urban Development Corp. to renovate the remaining towers, in lieu of including affordable units in the new building.
The Smyth marks the first Connecticut project for LMC, a unit of NYSE-listed homebuilder Lennar with a development pipeline of 28,800 units nationwide, totaling more than $11.2 billion. Katerra serves as the general contractor for The Smyth and the architect is Lessard Design.
Stamford sees wave of construction
Apartment construction is booming in Stamford, as developers race to provide dwellings for a population that grew by 6.7 percent from 2010 to 2017, the fastest increase of any city in Connecticut.
According to the city’s Department of Economic Development, Stamford currently has 1,730 apartment units under construction and more than 2,630 units have received zoning board approvals as of the first quarter of 2019. More than 1,000 further units have been proposed within the city in southern Fairfield County. Most new apartment buildings boast an average occupancy of 95 percent or higher.
Ironstate Development Co. is currently building Stamford Urby, an 11-building, 650-unit apartment community down the street from The Smyth at the corner of Greyrock Place and Tresser Boulevard. Completion of the enormous development is expected this year.
Other projects underway include RXR Realty’s Atlantic Station Phase II with 325 units and a new component of the Harbor Point project with 435 units. Harbor Landing Apartments, a 218-unit luxury rental community developed by Building and Land Technology, opened to residents in June of last year.
The building frenzy comes as Stamford’s labor force grew by more than 1,000 individuals year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019, while unemployment shrank to 4.0 percent. The city’s 2017 population of nearly 131,000 is projected to reach 136,000 by 2025, which would make Stamford the second-largest city in the Nutmeg State, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
