Groundbreaking signals rebirth of condo project

Date: 7/6/2010

July 5, 2010

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Managing Editor

WILBRAHAM -- On June 28, the Pecoy Companies broke ground on a new phase of the long-stalled condominium project located at 404 Stony Hill Rd.

Originally opened in 2007 as Cedar Ridge condominiums and designed to be a 55-and-over age-restricted community, developer Kent Pecoy recently reformulated the plan for the 80-acre site to include the construction of freestanding, single-family units that offer the convenience and amenities of condominium living.

According to material provided by the Pecoy Companies, the "collapse of the regional and national housing market stymied development of the [originally planned] housing units at the site for approximately the past two years."

Recently Pecoy and his design team began meeting with potential buyers to determine what changes they would like to see made to the project. He also successfully petitioned the Town of Wilbraham to remove the original age restriction, making the revised project open to all.

"Cedar Ridge was originally formulated as an active, over-55 community," Pecoy said at the groundbreaking. "We're very grateful to the Town of Wilbraham for reformulating to a community for all ages."

Pecoy added that he's optimistic about the success of the Villages at Cedar Ridge, as he's seen a recent uptick in interest in "homes with all the amenities of a condominium community."

State Sen. Gale Candaras, who participated in the groundbreaking, praised Pecoy for responding to the desire of area residents to "stay in their community, but not in the big houses where they raised their families."

"Kent is so successful because he is so responsive to the needs of the market. The need for single-family condominiums is growing," she said.

She also pointed out that the relaunch of the project also brought approximately 100 people to work at the site.

"When I see this project, I see jobs," Candaras said. "These are good jobs with good benefits."

She referred to the project as a "symbol that the economy is turning around."

"We're ready to move forward here in Western Massachusetts," she added.

Planning Board Vice Chairman Richard Butler told Reminder Publications his committee has been working with Pecoy on this project for five years.

"We have a great relationship with Kent," Butler said. "He developed what he knows we need ... it's in no one's best interest to have a project that's not moving forward."

"What hasn't changed is that [Pecoy] is still planning an open-space community," John Pearsall, director of the planning board, said. "A significant part [of this development] is open space. He's planning trails that connect to existing trails. There's planned recreation for the entire community."

"I think this will be a very successful community," Pearsall added, noting that it will meet the needs of single parent families and young professionals who are looking to move to Wilbraham.

Eileen Thomas, project-listing agent with Carlson GMAC Real Estate, said one unit has already been sold, and there were several other potential buyers looking at the design plans.

"I think we have a very unique product and with Kent's name, we have a quality product," Thomas said.

When completed, she said there would be between 180 and 200 freestanding condominiums in the Village at Cedar Ridge, depending upon how the units are located on the site.

Linda Ahern, who with her husband, Harold, is the first to purchase one of Pecoy's new freestanding condominiums, said she has been waiting for this opportunity since she first heard about the proposed change to the Cedar Ridge project.

A former client of Pecoy's -- he built the Belchertown home they recently sold -- she said she and her husband knew they could trust his work and liked the idea of "living in our own home" with the convenience of condominium-style maintenance.

"We did our own [floor] plans with Suzanne and Kent," Ahern said. "We expect to be [moving in] in November."