Union Square
Notice of Scoping for Union Square
Address of possible action location: 1 Church St. Enfield, CT 06082
Municipality where the action might be located: Enfield
Description: The Union Square redevelopment site is a vacant 1.78 acre town-owned property made up of multiple parcels, for which Impact Residential Development was selected through a competitive Town-issued RFP. The site previously housed the former Strand Theatre and the Lamagna Community Center, which were abated and demolished under contract to the Town of Enfield. Immediately adjacent to these parcels is an existing historic monument of a Union soldier, which will receive site improvements as part of the redevelopment scope but remain on Town-owned property. In addition to the Town-owned site, the developer has negotiated a Purchase and Sale Agreement with the owners of a privately owned parcel to extend the available parking area, which provides an overall site plan of 1.78 acres.
The property is located within a largely residential, multi-family 1-4 family neighborhood adjacent to the Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Mills historic district. One of the parcels included in the site are within the first block of the historic district, such that we have already undergone a full project review by CT SHPO, which provided mitigation measures including design review and a contribution to the historic restoration of the Pearl Street library in Enfield.
The site is located in the Thompsonville section of Enfield, which is within a Low Opportunity community as defined by the Open Communities Alliance's Opportunity Index. It is also across Pleasant Street from the Bigelow Commons Apartments, which include almost 500 market-rate apartments in restored four-story historic mill buildings.
There are numerous commercial properties along Main Street and Pearl Street to the west of the site, of which more than half are vacant storefronts. Directly adjacent to the site are a sandwich shop and restaurant, a renovated commercial redevelopment, and a soup kitchen a block away. Across Main Street is a public park with walking and bike paths around Freshwater Pond, which is connected to the Connecticut River just four blocks from the development site.
The Union Square development includes the new construction of 70 rental apartments along with supporting uses including a clubhouse community center, management/leasing offices, supportive housing office and meeting space, a fitness center, and on-site interior parking and related landscaping. The two garden style apartment buildings are being constructed within the existing contextual zoning established for the site by the Town of Enfield and its Transportation Oriented District guidelines as the site is within 1/2 mile of a new high speed rail station to begin construction in 2026. This is a family housing development, providing seven supportive housing units serving formerly homeless households and four units serving Moving On households, along with fourteen units targeted to market rate households. The new construction development includes two four-story elevator buildings which reflect the building typology of housing in the surrounding historic district. These will be highly energy efficient structures that include energy star appliances and photo voltaic panels to increase energy savings. There will be 2 studio apartments, 27 one bedroom units and 41 two bedroom units. The development is adjacent to an historic statue of a Civil War Union soldier, and the development will replace and upgrade the paving and landscaping surrounding this local monument.
Union Square is a Transit Oriented Development that received site plan approval and a Special Exception Permit issued by the Enfield Planning and Zoning Commission in late December 2023. This is the first development approved under the town's recently adopted Transit Oriented District zoning guidelines. The site is within 1/2 mile of a new high speed rail station to be built in 2026 and in service by 2027 on the New Haven/Hartford/Springfield high speed rail corridor.
The site plan includes a sidewalk with direct access to Prospect Street on the north side boundary, which is the pedestrian pathway to the new rail station. The site plan is also on several bus routes that serve Enfield and beyond, with a stop in front of the site on North Main Street where a shelter will be installed. The development includes public bike racks and bike storage within the two residential buildings.
Map: Access a map of the area - Union Square
Written comments from the public are welcomed and will be accepted until the close of business on: May 7, 2026.
Any person may ask the sponsoring agency to hold a public scoping meeting by sending such a request to the address below. If a public scoping meeting is requested by 25 or more individuals, or by an association that represents 25 or more members, the sponsoring agency shall schedule a public scoping meeting. Such requests must be made by April 17, 2026.
Written comments and/or requests for a public scoping meeting should be sent to:
Name: Mithila Chakraborty, Ph.D.
Agency: Connecticut Dept. of Housing
Address: 505 Hudson Street, Hartford, CT 06106-7106
E-Mail: mithila.chakraborty@ct.gov
Inquiries and requests to view and or copy documents, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, must be submitted to the sponsoring state agency:
Name: Mithila Chakraborty, Ph.D.
Agency: Connecticut Dept. of Housing
Address: 505 Hudson Street, Hartford, CT 06106-7106
E-Mail: mithila.chakraborty@ct.gov
What Happens Next:
The Department of Housing, CT will determine whether to proceed with the preparation of an Environmental Impact Evaluation (EIE) or that the action does not require the preparation of an EIE under the Connecticut Environmental Policy Act (CEPA). A Post-Scoping Notice of its decision will appear in a future edition of the Environmental Monitor.