Arnold Karp

Neighbor of Merritt Village Retaining Wall to P&Z: ‘It Doesn’t Bother Us’ and ‘Let Them Finish’

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The owner of the home directly opposite Park Street from the divisive and thus-far standalone retaining wall at the Merritt Village site is pushing back on criticism of its appearance. David Prutting in a letter to the Planning & Zoning Commission said he and his wife are “happy it’s nearly done” and, referring to the town body’s request for a fieldstone finish on the retaining wall, that “the thought of the 3-month-long installation of a 4-inch veneer is not welcome.”

“Besides, who gets to decide the aesthetic choice of the veneer?” Prutting said in his letter to P&Z, received Jan. 3 by the town. “Drive along Park Street and beyond and you will view many different looks, from a ‘pile of rocks’ ready to tumble, to flat and round looks, many very unattractive, at least to me. As I often tell our clients, stonework is like portrait painting—some can look really good or really bad.”

The appearance of the wall in October immediately became a flashpoint for some area residents, including passersby and critics of the 110-unit Merritt Village condo-and-apartment complex that P&Z approved more than two years ago.

Arnold Karp

‘Merritt Village’ Developer to P&Z: We’re Building What You Approved

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The widely discussed retaining walls built at the Merritt Village construction site on Park Street are consistent with approved plans, and criticisms from detractors are misguided, according to the project’s developer. In a reply letter to the Planning & Zoning Commission, Arnold Karp of property owner M2 Partners said he disagrees that the walls “are not in keeping with the spirit of the descriptions and drawings of the application for this project.”

Referring to a Nov. 20 letter from P&Z, Karp acknowledged that submitted and approved plans made no specific reference to “faux stone” in retaining walls, yet they also make no reference to “fieldstone.”

“In fact, the Conditions of Approval only seem to reference any materials at all in one or two instances, and certainly not pertaining to the insignificant retaining walls,” Karp wrote in his reply letter, received Dec. 24 at Town Hall. 

“The approval for this project included the imposition of conditions regarding the use of plant screening along Park Street, but nothing regarding the retaining walls. In reviewing the images presented to the Commission during the hearings and the application, the wall construction in place seems to mirror them.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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The town on Dec. 21 issued a building permit to M2 Partners and Arnold Karp for the four buildings that will comprise Merritt Village. The permit is for “construction of new multifamily residential units” with 173 underground and 31 surface parking spaces. The units will come to a total of 167,746 square feet and will cost about $16.8 million to build, according to the permit. Its issuance came days after the Planning & Zoning Commission discussed withholding the permit itself until concerns regarding Park Street-facing retaining walls are addressed.

Around Town

P&Z to Merritt Village Developer: Retaining Wall Won’t Actually Be Screened, It Needs a Fieldstone Veneer

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After reviewing plans for a major building project on the edge of downtown New Canaan, planning officials say, a widely criticized faux stone retaining wall will not be completely screened, and therefore must be addressed in some other way. The Merritt Village retaining wall that is materializing along Park Street is “aesthetically underwhelming and not in keeping with the spirit of your description of the project and the drawings that you originally presented as part of your application,” Planning & Zoning Chairman John Goodwin said in a Nov. 20 letter to the project’s developer, Arnold Karp. 

Sent on behalf of the entire Commission, the letter says that the faux stone finish on the retaining walls were not referenced during public hearings on the Merritt Village project and that the structures require “at a minimum, fieldstone veneer.”

“You are certainly correct that you are in the early stages of your project and you noted that ultimately these structures would be ‘hidden’ by landscaping,” the letter said. “After reviewing the plans on record and considering the extent of the structures, we are not convinced the faux look will be completely screened. We believe the appropriate solution would be the application of a 4-inch thick fieldstone veneer directly to the face of the existing retaining walls.

Government

P&Z To Merritt Village Builder: We Thought the Retaining Walls Would Have Different Materials

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Saying they’re disappointed that the materials they thought a local builder would be using for a retaining wall are not what has materialized along Park Street, members of the Planning & Zoning Commission on Tuesday night asked the developer of Merritt Village whether similar “faux-looking” structures could be expected. 

Weeks after addressing the matter of the retaining wall with New Canaan’s legislative body, Arnold Karp of Karp Associates came before P&Z to during the appointed group’s regular meeting. 

According to Karp, a second retaining wall above and behind the one that’s caused so much fuss is to be built, and there’s also one that curves around where motorists will enter Merritt Village from Park Street. 

Even so, Karp said, the retaining walls will be capped and partially hidden by plantings, and the buildings themselves—which feature natural stone and cedar shingles—will be the focal point for passersby. “I have to get a little more of the project on down the line before I have 18,000 architects who live in town telling me how it is going to look,” Karp told the Commission during its meeting, held at Town Hall. 

As P&Z itself includes architects Laszlo Papp, Dan Radman and Kent Turner, Karp added, “I wasn’t counting anybody on the commission in the 18,000,” drawing laughter from the room. Radman said, “But it’s only these three that you have to worry about.”

Merritt Village, a 110-unit apartment and condo complex approved by P&Z two years ago, following several months of hearings and a record-high number of conditions, is still about 18 months away from completion. 

Even so, Chairman John Goodman said that P&Z has received “a fair amount of feedback from the community” regarding the retaining wall, and therefore asked Karp and Karp Associates COO Paul Stone to address the matter. 

Karp said he takes P&Z’s comments to heart. 

“It’s not like I’m going to build this and disappear,” Karp said. “I’m here for the duration.”

Speaking of the retaining wall in its current state, he added: “We are looking at something that against this backdrop is very noticeable. They are not finished.