The Riverside Neighborhood Association is backing a proposal to build 13 townhomes at 1205 East Putnam Ave., next to the McDonald's near I-95 Exit 5, calling the residential plan preferable to the commercial alternatives that have failed at the site.

Developer Ed Zislis told CT Public he plans to submit a formal application to the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission by the end of 2026. The commission is awaiting a traffic study before the project can advance.

The 26,121-square-foot property, zoned for local business (LB) and residential-planned housing design for small units (R-PHD-SU), currently holds an unused two-family home dating to around 1900 and a detached garage. Both would be demolished. Two buildings containing 13 townhouse units would replace them, according to the P&Z application.

Two of the 13 units would qualify as Moderate-Income Dwelling (MID) units under Greenwich regulation 6-110, priced between roughly $400,000 and $600,000 for income-qualified buyers. Household incomes cannot exceed approximately $120,000 to $190,000, depending on family size. The remaining 11 market-rate homes would sell for between $1.8 million and $2.4 million, according to Zislis.

Neighborhood support

Susan Foster, a Riverside Neighborhood Association member, said the group favors the project over commercial development.

"We favor this project because it will be residential and not, say, a fast-food restaurant open from morning till night with a lot of traffic," Foster said.

Jeff Hadzima, also of the association, said improving the downtown corridor's aesthetics is the group's top priority for the site. At the commission's Aug. 5 pre-application review, Hadzima described the design as a tasteful shingle-style program suited to Riverside's coastal character, according to Greenwich Free Press. The association's 17-member board supported the project at that meeting.

The site has a troubled development history. A Shake Shack application filed in 2022 was withdrawn in 2023 after concerns over traffic congestion and zoning debates over fast-food classifications. Before that, a 2019 proposal for a 20-unit residential building advanced to a final stage but was never pursued.

Traffic concerns remain

P&Z Chair Margarita Alban raised questions about how drivers would navigate the property. A constructed median on East Putnam Avenue prevents eastbound drivers from turning left into the site, meaning residents can only enter from one direction. Alban asked how future residents heading the opposite way would manage access and what that means for neighborhood safety.

At the Aug. 5 pre-application hearing, commissioners also flagged the lack of sidewalks within the property, landscaping described as screening rather than residential character, and limited light and air for the building abutting McDonald's. Commissioner Dennis Yeskey called the project unappealing in terms of walkability and structure at that meeting, according to Greenwich Free Press.

Attorney John Tesei, representing the applicant at the Aug. 5 hearing, warned that without a residential project the property could be redeveloped for commercial use given its Local Business zoning.

The property is owned by 1205 East Putnam Avenue LLC, registered to Gordon Rogers. Local developer Joe Pecora serves as the owners' representative.

Zislis said he expects to file the formal application by year's end. No hearing date has been set.