Griswold, CT On June 8, 2021 Dakota Partners celebrated the Grand Opening of Oak Tree Village, a new mixed-income apartment community. Featuring a lineup of speakers including Dakota principal, Roberto Arista; the town of Griswold’s first selectman, Todd Babbitt; Department of Housing commissioner, Seila Mosquera-Bruno; Connecticut Housing Finance Authority CEO Nandini Natarajan; and two Oak Tree Village residents, Krystyna Ademi and Fran Korzenko. While an in-person event would have been preferable, Dakota opted to be mindful of everyone’s safety amid the ongoing pandemic and hosted the event virtually.
Babbitt said, “Throughout the project, I was continually impressed with Dakota’s transparency. Any information we requested was readily available to us. Interest has been really high, evidenced by the fact that Oak Tree Village is already fully leased, and the community has embraced this project. The town looks forward to and encourages the next phase of this project.”
Oak Tree Village fills a critical void of affordable housing in Griswold. Offering a mix of affordable and market rate units, this community was designed with luxury and sustainability in mind. It features traditional New England architecture and was built according to Passive House standards, utilizing super insulation, airtight building envelope and heat-recovery ventilation systems to reduce overall energy consumption. Built on previously vacant and unused land that had fallen into disrepair, Oak Tree’s contemporary buildings and open spaces for residents to enjoy are a welcome addition to the area.
Residents benefit from the many public transportation options available in close proximity to the community, including a proposed Rte. 8 Southeast Area Transit (SEAT) bus stop at the entrance of the property. Commuters needing access to Rte. 395 will find Oak Tree Village’s location with an access ramp just outside of the community.
Oak Tree Village features 72 new units within two buildings spanning three floors. Planned in two phases, the entire development will consist of 144 apartments within four, three-story garden-style buildings. Phase I also included construction of a clubhouse for residents to enjoy. The community offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom, open-concept style apartments to a mixed-income market.
As a real estate developer and builder, Dakota Partners develops affordable, workforce and market-rate housing communities across New England, New York and the mid-Atlantic states.