Construction is nearly finished at Avalon Shelton, the massive new upscale apartment complex on Canal Street, and the new development is open and ready for leasing.
“It’s the first large-scale, new luxury apartments in downtown Shelton,” said AvalonBay’s local development director, Todd Nicotra, who gave the Valley Indy a tour of the new complex Thursday (April 18). “We believe in this market.”
The project has been years in the making, and is seen as a key piece in the longterm success of Shelton’s downtown redevelopment.
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The development is huge, with 250 rental apartments in a single, five-story structure on an 8‑acre parcel overlooking the Housatonic River.
Many of the apartments have views of the river or the downtown cityscape.
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Nicotra said renters would pay a premium to lease the units with the most desirable views.
About 100 of the 250 units are completed and ready for occupancy, he said.
Nicotra said it was not company policy to say how many units have been leased, but he said Thursday (April 18) morning that seven were rented already that week.
One-bedroom units start in the mid-$1,200s, 2‑bedroom units in the high-$1,600s, he said.
The choicest units on the top floors with views of the Housatonic River will rent for over $2,000 per month.
Prospective tenants are shown a furnished model unit located on the ground floor near the clubhouse lounge and the rental office.
Nicotra said the model shows them the espresso-finish kitchen cabinets, tiled counter backsplash, flooring, lighting fixtures, mounted microwave ovens and other appliances that are featured in all of the apartment units.
“Of course, they don’t come furnished and decorated,” he said.
It is the second rental apartment development the company, which is headquartered in California, has built in Shelton.
The other, Avalon Huntington, built about five years ago, has about 100 units, located along Bridgeport Avenue not far from the Trumbull town line.
But Nicotra said the two developments are designed to complement each other, not compete.
Avalon Huntington has mostly 2- to 3‑bedroom townhouse-type, multi-floor units, while Avalon Shelton has mostly 1- to 2‑bedroom flats, although some of the premium units on the topmost floors are 2‑bedroom units that feature upper-floor loft spaces.
“We like to do that when we’re in the same market, give people options,” said Nicotra, explaining the company’s design theory for the two developments.
“It’s fun to be involved in the whole redevelopment of the area,” he said.
Avalon Shelton’s units wrap around a parking garage with 370 spaces that provides parking for tenants and their guests.
The only street-level parking is in front of the rental office entrance, where a handful of visitor spaces are labeled for the use of future building tenants.
The apartment windows look out over the street, the side yards, the river, or one of two courtyards.
A swimming pool is under construction in one of the courtyards; Nicotra said it should be ready for use by the Memorial Day weekend.
Besides the swimming pool, other amenities for residents include a clubhouse lounge equipped with Wi-Fi and a fitness center with numerous weight machines, free weights and aerobic workout machines.
The cardio machines are equipped with video screens that offer a choice of Internet access, cable TV channels, or even an iPod hookup to enjoy while exercising.
“It might distract you from exercising, but it’s pretty neat,” Nicotra, pictured below, said.
