The Towns Are Choosing What Gets Built Next
Across Southeastern Connecticut and Southern Rhode Island, recent town meetings show a clear pattern: future supply is not simply being built. It is being filtered through zoning, infrastructure, public feedback, political priorities, and local appetite for change.
Missing Middle Housing Moves From Concept to Conversation
Small-scale density may become the next supply tool
Groton’s “Meeting in the Middle” initiative is focused on housing types that sit between traditional single-family homes and larger apartment buildings. This includes duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, cottages, stacked flats, and smaller walk-up apartment buildings.
The importance of this discussion is not just housing policy. Groton sits in the path of major employment demand tied to defense, marine trades, healthcare, education, and regional service industries. If the town can allow more flexible housing forms, it may be one of the few local markets capable of producing supply that better matches workforce demand.
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Supply is not just being built. It is being selected.
Adaptive Reuse Creates a Path for 32 Residential Units
Former school buildings may become housing supply
Newport’s Technical Review Committee reviewed plans involving the former Coggeshall School property, including 26 multifamily residential units within the existing building and three duplex buildings totaling six additional units. Combined, the proposal represents 32 residential units.
In constrained coastal markets, adaptive reuse is one of the most important supply strategies. It can create housing without requiring the same level of neighborhood disruption as a large ground-up development.
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Source: City of Newport TRC Agenda
Quiet Movement Across Multiple Asset Classes
Industrial, institutional, and residential activity continue
Waterford’s recent Planning and Zoning materials included activity tied to 33 Kenyon Road, 17 Industrial Drive, and a subdivision-related extension at 97 Spithead Road. While none of these items alone may redefine the town, together they show a market with continued movement across several property categories.
Waterford remains a stability market. Its value is not always found in dramatic headlines, but in steady, practical land-use activity that supports long-term commercial, residential, and institutional demand.
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Tourism Revenue Takes Priority Over Immediate Housing
144-room hotel and public park move forward
Middletown’s revised West Main Road development agreement narrows the immediate project to a 144-room hotel and a landscaped public park of at least 3,000 square feet. The town also preserved the existing recreation complex and identified the northern portion of the broader property for a future planning process where affordable housing is expected to be part of the discussion.
This is a clear example of municipal tradeoff. Middletown is not ignoring housing, but the immediate phase prioritizes hospitality, tax revenue, ground rent, and preservation of recreation space.
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The POCD Is Where Future Supply Gets Written
Policy today becomes zoning tomorrow
Stonington’s recent Housing Opportunities Commission and POCD-related meetings are important because they are not just administrative. They are part of the policy layer that may shape future zoning, density, preservation priorities, infrastructure planning, and housing opportunities.
The Plan of Conservation and Development does not create supply overnight. But it often sets the language that later determines whether future housing is encouraged, limited, redirected, or delayed.
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The Filter Is the Market
Groton is studying more flexible housing forms. Newport is exploring adaptive reuse. Waterford continues steady land-use activity. Middletown is prioritizing hospitality revenue while reserving future housing discussion. Stonington is writing policy language that may determine what future supply is even possible.
The result is clear: the towns are not simply reacting to the market. They are shaping it.
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