Greenwich Planning & Zoning recently received a pre-application from Greenwich Academy to develop 54 acres of vacant land the private all girls school purchased in August 2023.
According to the assessor’s office, the school purchased the property listed as 181 Glenville Road for $18,212,375 from Indian Spring Land Limited Partnership. It was originally part of the Rockefeller estate.
The property fronts onto Glenville Rd, Pecksland Rd and Riversville Rd.
According to an application narrative signed by attorney Tom Heagney, the first phase of development would include construction of an entrance drive off of Riversville Rd, a central loop driveway for circulation and parking, a classroom building for first and second grades, a squash center, 8 units of faculty housing, a play area adjacent to the classroom building, and additional parking.
Classrooms would be provided for approximately 120 students.
The driveway on Pecksland Road would allow for bus and emergency vehicle access and entry and exit for faculty housing residents only.
Applicant pre-application file submitted to Greenwich P&Z.
Phase II would include the construction of additional classroom space for kindergarten and grades three and four, plus ancillary student facilities and additional parking.
The narrative says that with Phase II, the school could accommodate educational opportunities for approximately 300 students in the K-4 program.
Future development would include additional athletic facilities, a nature center with an outdoor classroom, and more faculty housing.
There are several pockets of wetlands on the property, three of which contain vernal pools. All proposed development would occur at least 100 feet outside the wetland boundaries.
The property is currently located in three residential zones, R-7, RA-1 and RA-2. Except for the portion of the R-7 zone along Glenville Road, the school proposes to re-zone the 1-acre portion of the property to RA-2.
The main access point for the property would be from Riversville Rd, with a secondary driveway for buses and faculty housing off of Pecksland Road. No vehicular access is proposed from Glenville Road.
Existing hiking trails would be maintained on the property, with the addition of boardwalks through selected wetland areas.
All proposed development would be designed to work with the topography, and would primarily be located on the western portion of the property.
A traffic study is being completed based on the total number of students on the property after the construction of Phase II.
Students from the school’s North Maple campus using the squash center would be bused to the Riversville Rd campus.
The pre-application is not yet scheduled for a P&Z commission meeting.
The school has an enrollment cap set by P&Z for their North Maple campus. That cap, which, part of a decision from P&Z, stems back to August 2000.
In 2023, the school proposed to raise their enrollment cap from from 730 to 780 students. At the time they offered an expanded busing and shuttle pilot program to reduce local traffic congestion in exchange for the increased enrollment.
However, the P&Z commission and local neighbors pushed back and requested more thorough traffic data before moving forward.
One set of neighbors said it was sometimes difficult to get in and out of their driveway at the intersection of Maple/Patterson/N Maple at peak times, and that the sound of car tires, engines, brakes, and especially honking, was already significant at peak times, and ultimately the proposed increase in the enrollment cap did not move forward.
See also:
Greenwich Academy Applies to P&Z to Increase Enrollment Cap Nov 29, 2023
Greenwich Academy to Launch Aggressive Busing Program to Alleviate Local Traffic, Potentially Increase Enrollment May 26, 2023
Greenwich Academy Gamble on 96 Maple Pays Off, Clears the Way for Campus Master Plan Feb 24, 2019
Maple Avenue Neighbors Versus Greenwich Academy: The Battle Has Just Begun Jan 13, 2019
Greenwich Academy’s Purchase of 96 Maple Adds to Long List of Properties June 14, 2018
Greenwich Academy Neighbors Say Quality of Life Has Taken a Hit This Summer August 2019
Next for the Wrecking Ball in Greenwich: Greenwich Academy’s “Ghost House”