Residential projects fuel luxury revamp of 1880s building
GREENWICH — Big changes are coming to the Glenville neighborhood.
The sound of power drills and saws fills the local streets along the Byram River where an early industrial fabric mill once employed legions of workers. Two large new residential projects are taking shape, this time for affluent apartment dwellers with a taste for the good life.
The construction of 59 apartment units, which are set to open later this year, is likely to transform the area, where generations of eastern European mill workers once toiled to create trainloads of fabric and felt for the nation.
Developer Steven Schacter said the goal is to improve an already attractive and desirable neighborhood with upscale housing. Two buildings, one built in 1981, and the old Mill site dating from 1881, are undergoing a complete renovation. The old Mill building will house 26 units, and the 1981 building will offer 33 units. The area previously held office space, but that market in the west end of Greenwich has softened in recent years.
“We’re basically rebuilding these two buildings,” said Schacter, a co-owner of the property. The 1981 building will be refitted with patios and cantilevered balconies. The old Mill building will retain its old industrial feel, while it is repurposed as living space.