New Milford Connecticut Condos:

Now you can live, work and play in the historic district of New Milford, half a block from where Adam Sandler filmed Mr. Deeds! Walk to fine dining, night clubs, coffee shops, shopping, and one of the states most beautiful greens. Best of all your new home will have no heating, cooling or electricity expense!

The project has received great coverage in the Spectrum and New Milford Times over the last few months. Check back soon we hope to have reprints posted here.

Shades of Green

Steve Schappert, President of Panelized Building Systems, Featured as the Green Building Pro in the Litchfield County Times "Passport Magazine". Learn More

Developer tries to change the world

By Emily M. Olson

Managing Editor, The New Milford Times

Steve Schappert, the owner of Panelized Building Systems LLC, is trying to change the way commercial buildings are perceived and constructed—with a geothermal, energy efficient heating and cooling system. It’s the first building of its kind to be proposed in New Milford.

A proposal for Mr. Schappert’s residential/commercial structure in downtown New Milford will be heated and cooled using solar energy, not oil—and will offer business owners the opportunity of a “zero commute” workplace. The building plan is expected to be presented to the Zoning Commission next Tuesday night.

The project, called a BIOS building, will be a combination of residential and business condominiums located at 72 Railroad Street, just south of Tommy’s Cleaners across from the Railroad Street parking lot. The 14,000-square-foot mixed use building will include 1,500-square-foot residential condominiums on the second floor, with business condominiums beneath ranging in size from 830 to 6,500 square feet.

The biggest difference between Mr. Schappert’s project and traditional building projects is that the BIOS building uses geothermal energy. According to the Energy Star Web site, which promotes energy-efficient heating and cooling products that meet energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy, geothermal heat pumps are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but use the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases, hot water. Because they use the earth's natural heat, they are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies, according to the Web site. Qualified geothermal heat pumps use about 40-60 percent less energy than a standard heat pump.

Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

According to the Energy Star Web site, the EPA introduced Energy Star in 1992 as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Computers and monitors were the first labeled products. Through 1995, EPA expanded the label to additional office equipment products and residential heating and cooling equipment. In 1996, EPA partnered with the US Department of Energy for particular product categories. The Energy Star label is now on major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and more. EPA has also extended the label to cover new homes and commercial and industrial buildings.

Mr. Schappert said he’s always been interested in building and energy options for homes and businesses.

“I became a partner in a panelized heating company, to build Energy Star [approved] homes, and I became an Energy Star builder,” he said. “Then I learned about the zero energy program and geothermal heating and cooling … I purchased the land about a year ago, and I’ve been planning it ever since.”

The overall concept of the BIOS building is to offer an attractive living and working space that’s energy efficient, he said.

“The offices are on the first floor, the residences are above, so the upper floor is heated from beneath,” Mr. Schappert explained. “People who want to take the elevator to work can do just that—it follows the whole energy plan of a zero commute. I’m buying the front unit and while I was working on the property some neighbors came over and said they were interested in buying one of the units.”

“The biggest concept of this project is that it’s a geothermal heating system,” the developer said. “It’s heated by the sun and it’s much more energy efficient. People living upstairs won’t have to turn the heat on.”

On Tuesday morning, Mr. Schapppert was hard at work removing tree stumps from the site to prepare the property for his architect’s review. He has been promoting his ideas in the downtown business area and presented his plans to the New Milford Trust for Historic Preservation, an advisory board that works with developers in the downtown area. So far, he’s received plenty of support from his future neighbors too, he said.

“I have walked into every office and business on Railroad Street, Bank Street and Main Street, and I haven’t gotten a negative response from anyone,” Mr. Schappert said proudly. “I talked to Vin Nolan in the town’s Economic Development office, and he had heard from [business owner] Trip Rothschild who said it was going to be a great thing … I went to the historic district commission and they unanimously approved my design.”

Mr. Schappert believes his project is trend-setting and will establish new standards for energy efficient buildings.

“Everyone should be doing this,” he said. “I want to change the standards by which people build.”

He’s also proud of the way the building will fit into the streetscape on Railroad Street. “From a streetscape standpoint, it balances the street,” he said. “You start on Bridge Street, you’ve got the four-story Young’s Hotel, and the rest of the whole street is three, four stories, with a couple of shorter ones in between. My building is a bookend, it balances the street out. It makes it look really nice.”

Mr. Schappert is the principal owner of his company, with his father, William Schappert, and brother, Mark Schappert, as his partners. He also pointed out that he’s not a million-dollar development company owner.

“What sticks out in my mind is, I’m the little guy,” he said. I don’t have tons of money behind my work—we’re shoe strapping this. I don’t have tons of money. This is a labor of love for me, and I’m doing this because it’s my first commercial building and I’m going for the ‘wow’ impact. I’m doing this because I want it to be profitable and better than everyone else.

“That’s when the world will change—when the zero energy concept becomes affordable. And it can be done now,” Mr. Schappert added. “I’m trying to do the best job possible so the environmental sector will love it, the historic sector will love it—but most importantly, the business sector will love it.”

The Zoning Commission is scheduled to meet Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at town hall.

In New Milford, Signs of Smart growth (An Editorial)

... on Tuesday the zoning commission unanimously approved Steve Schappert's plans for a geothermal building on Railroad street... In addition to being a model of energy efficiency, the new downtown structure will be innovative in intermingling residential condominiums and business ones. get the whole story

©New Milford Times 2006

Schappert project approved

By: Nancy Barnes

10/13/2006

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Realtor Steve Schappert received approval, with some minor amendments, Tuesday night from the New Milford Zoning Commission for a geothermal building he plans to construct on Railroad Street next to Tommy's Cleaners. The vote was unanimous.

"It sounds like it could be something that could be done again. It could be very exciting to see something so advanced," said Zoning Commission Chairman Eleanor Florio on Wednesday, referring to the geothermal nature of the structure. "We have not had this type of building before."
Qualified geothermal heat pumps use about 40 to 60 percent less energy than a standard heat pump, according to industry standards.
The project, called a BIOS building, will be a combination of residential and business condominiums located at 72 Railroad Street. The 14,000-square-foot mixed-use building will include 1,500-square-foot residential condominiums on the second floor, with business condominiums beneath ranging in size from 830 to 6,500 square feet.
"I am hoping to set a trend," said Mr. Schappert after the vote, acknowledging he had conducted research on geothermal trends through the federal government, among others sources. "Keep in mind there will be zero energy units, meaning there will be no heating, energy or power bills," he said, referring to the condominiums in the mixed use structure whose entry level price he now puts at $357,000.
Construction, he said, will begin hopefully within two weeks, with a completion date for the structure now scheduled for mid-April of 2007.
After applying for his permits from the zoning panel last summer, participating in public hearings and gaining public support for the plan, Mr. Schappert waited for several months for an affirmative nod from the Greater New Milford Trust for Historic Preservation, in spite of an initial approval from the advisory group that works with applicants wanting to build and improve structures in the downtown area.
In August, members of the trust expressed concern about the height of the proposed commercial/condominium structure and suggested several changes, leaving the Zoning Commission uncertain that the trust was actually in favor of the plan. So, Mr. Schappert had to wait until September for a revised letter from the trust.
At the commission's last meeting in September, trust member Pat Greenspan gave her verbal endorsement for his innovative plan, which will use solar heating panels and a geothermal heating system to provide heat and power to the building.
"This is a very exciting plan," Mrs. Greenspan had said. "It provides an alternative energy source that could serve as a prototype for other buildings in town."
According to the Energy Star Web site, which promotes energy-efficient heating and cooling products that meet energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy, geothermal heat pumps are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but use the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases, hot water. Because they use the earth's natural heat, they are among the most efficient heating and cooling technologies, according to the Web site.
©New Milford Times 2006

Railroad Street building gets Zoning OK

New Milford zoners have approved Stephen Schappert's proposal for an energy-efficient, mixed retail/office/residential building at 72 Railroad St. in the Village Center Zone.

The site is currently a vacant strip of property just south of Tommy's Cleaners and across from Dolly's Wine Boutique.

The Zoning Commission resolution of approval, voted on Tuesday night, puts several restrictions on the permit related to parking spaces, materials, hours of construction, and the use of the building.

The first and second floors will have offices or retail uses.

Plans call for three residential apartments on the top floor of the building, which will have a landscaped courtyard on the south side.

Solar panels will provide much of the power, and the building will use geothermal technology for heating.

-- Lynda Wellman

©New Milford Spectrum 2006

Minor changes slow building project

Schappert’s Bios building awaits zoning’s nod

By Emily M. Olson

Managing Editor, The New Milford Times

Realtor Steve Schappert’s Bios building, which he plans to build on the northern end of Railroad Street next door to Tommy’s Cleaners, was the topic of discussion at Tuesday night’s Zoning Commission during a continued public hearing.

Although Mr. Schappert was hoping the commission would approve his project Tuesday, members are awaiting an approval letter from the New Milford Trust for Historic Preservation and a final engineering report. And since the trust doesn’t meet again until September, the developer must wait another month before the zoning board votes and approves his plan.

“My take on this is, they’re nice people, but the system needs work,” a frustrated Mr. Schappert said Wednesday. “I have provided everything the commission has asked for and the changes to my project are minor. To ask me to wait another month is really unfair.”

Mr. Schappert wants to construct a three-story mixed use office/condominium structure that will be powered and heated with solar panels and a geothermal heating system—the first of its kind to be built in New Milford. His ground-breaking effort to build the project has hit a few snags along the way, but Mr. Schappert still believes his building will be an asset to the streetscape of Railroad Street and to the business community.

At the last meeting of the zoning board in early August, members questioned the reconfiguration and expansion of the adjacent parking lot and asked many questions about the size and height of the building. The builder and his engineer, Russ Posthauer, reviewed the plans at that hearing.

An e-mail from adjacent property owner Tom Scozzafava was not official enough for the commission or Zoning Enforcement Officer Kathy Castagnetta, however, and so this week Mr. Schappert provided a formal letter from the owner of his neighbor, Tommy’s Cleaners.

“I’ve got a great plan here,” he said this week. “At this point I feel that we have everything that they’ve asked for. They wanted an official letter from Tom Scozzofava, and I’ve got that. I’ve got a signed letter to use the parking lot and I’ve committed to do the environmental cleanup for the properties from 76 to 80 Railroad Street … I’ve increased the courtyard from five to 10 feet. So I think I’ve addressed the concerns [raised by the commission].”

Mr. Schappert brought his plan to the New Milford Trust for Historic Preservation when he first began promoting his project, and got an affirmative response from members of that advisory board, along with an approval letter. However, some small changes he made to the plan “invalidated” the letter the trust provided to the zoning board in June, and the commission wants a current letter of approval. Although the historic trust board is not a regulatory, lawmaking body, its nod for certain projects does carry some weight with the zoning board’s decisions, apparently.

There was also some question as to whether the historic trust wanted to review the amended plans again. Because several members of the trust were away on vacation, member Pat Greenspan asked if Mr. Schappert could present those plans at the trust’s next meeting in September. That request worried the developer a bit, but he was hopeful that it wouldn’t be necessary to delay another month.

“I took the time to go to the historic trust months ago and within minutes they unanimously approved it,” he said. “I got their approval and I’ve submitted that—they had a couple of suggestions and I revised the plans. Everyone has received the changes I’ve made.

“I’ve done my job and I feel it’s a great plan,” Mr. Schappert continued. “I got an email from the town assessor, that basically says my building is going to be assessed at $1.4 million. The New Milford Railroad station is assessed at $1.2 million, so I’ve got the most valuable building on the street. If there’s concerns about the impact on property values, there you are—it’s not going to hurt the street or any property values. It’s going to increase them.”

The zoning commission has until September 26 to vote on the application.

“The issue here is financial—I’m not working right now because I’m waiting on this approval,” Mr. Schappert said. “I have to wait until [the historic trust meets Sept. 22] for a letter—it’s not right. This is a $1.2 million project and I’m at a standstill.”

Although Mr. Schappert indicated earlier that he could pursue other options for the property—such as an affordable housing project—he’s not considering that right not.

“I’m going to stay the course,” he said. Mr. Schappert will appear before the commission again in September.

Geothermal building planned for Railroad Street

Hearing closed, but no vote from zoning yet

By Emily M. Olson

Managing Editor, The New Milford Times

The public hearing phase for realtor Steve Schappert’s geothermal building plan, proposed for a lot on Railroad Street next door to Tommy’s Cleaners, closed Tuesday night at the New Milford Zoning Commission after members received an updated letter of endorsement from the Historic Trust for Preservation. The board now has 65 days to render a final decision on the project.

Members of the commission still had questions about the project’s adjacent parking lot, paving and drainage issues on the site during construction. Members were also concerned about the impact of the construction phase of the project on pedestrians during the construction phase, since the property is on the main road in the business district and the work will likely impact the sidewalk.

Mr. Schappert and his engineer, Russ Posthauer, said they would be sure to put up a chain link fence to protect pedestrians.

Mr. Schappert has waited for several months for an affirmative nod from the Trust for Historic Preservation, in spite of an initial approval from the advisory group that works with applicants wanting to build and improve structures in the downtown area.

In August, members of the trust expressed concern about the height of the proposed office/condominium structure and suggested several changes, leaving the zoning commission uncertain that the trust was actually in favor of the plan. So, Mr. Schappert had to wait until September for a revised letter from the trust.

On Tuesday night, trust member Pat Greenspan gave her verbal endorsement for his innovative plan, which will use solar heating panels and a geothermal heating system to provide heat and power to the building.

“This is a very exciting plan,” Mrs. Greenspan said. “It provides an alternative energy source that could serve as a prototype for other buildings in town.”

The project, called a BIOS building, will be a combination of residential and business condominiums located at 72 Railroad Street, just south of Tommy’s Cleaners across from the Railroad Street parking lot. The 14,000-square-foot mixed-use building will include 1,500-square-foot residential condominiums on the second floor, with business condominiums beneath ranging in size from 830 to 6,500 square feet.

According to the Energy Star Web site, which promotes energy-efficient heating and cooling products that meet energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy, geothermal heat pumps are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but use the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases, hot water. Because they use the earth's natural heat, they are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies, according to the Web site. Qualified geothermal heat pumps use about 40-60 percent less energy than a standard heat pump.

The Zoning Commission has 65 days to make a decision on the proposal. Chairman Eleanor Florio told Mr. Schappert it wasn’t likely they’d vote Tuesday. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Focus is on Railroad Street at zoners’ Tuesday hearings

August 04, 2006

By Lynda Wellman
STAFF WRITER, New Milford Spectrum

In addition to a proposed new building on New Milford’s Railroad Street, there are now plans to add to an existing building at 60 Railroad St., two buildings to the south.
On Tuesday, zoners will continue a hearing on Stephen Schappert’s application to build a mixed retail/office/residential building at 72 Railroad St. in the Village Center Zone.
Mr. Schappert plans an energy-independent building on a vacant strip of property just south of Tommy’s Cleaners and across from Dolly’s Wine Boutique.
Zoners will also open a hearing on Tuesday on architect Stephen Lasar’s plans to expand the first floor of the building that houses the Trackside Café and add an addition for second and third floor apartments. The building is owned by Dan Coppolo.
The Zoning Commission meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the lower level of the town hall.
Mr. Schappert’s plans call for a 25-by-100-foot building that would showcase “the best of building and design technologies.”
The building would use geothermal heat pumps and solar panels for heating and power.
“Not only is the building good for the environment and its occupants, it’s economically sound,” Mr. Schappert said.
But not everyone is happy about the plan.
Rory Woods, a tenant at 68 Railroad St. — the Hoyt building immediately to the south — said he’s concerned about the loss of sunlight and views from his apartment, and the impact that would have on the property value.
He’s also concerned about loss of parking, since the proposed site is currently used as a parking lot.
The proposed height of the Schappert building is approximately 50 feet to the peak, twice the height of the adjacent Hoyt building, according to Zoning Enforcement Officer Kathy Castagnetta.
Charles Bogie of Greenwood Road echoed Mr. Woods’ concerns, as well as concerns about the rights of Hoyt building owners.
Mr. Schappert said the height is needed to give “more of a wow factor” to the residential units and their views and to keep the units energy-neutral. Three residential units with exposed beams and 18-foot vaulted ceilings would occupy the top floor and loft area in his planned structure.
Three and a half stories of the 14,280-square-foot building Mr. Schappert designed would be above ground level.
Mr. Schappert told zoners July 25 that since his initial application was filed, ledge had been discovered between three and seven feet below ground, so the subbasement plan has been eliminated.
“There will be no blasting,” he said.
A proposed easement provides for nine parking spaces on the north side of the building and a three car garage within the rear of the building.
Stephen and Bill Schappert said they are willing to work with the owners of the Hoyt building, but they noted they have the right to build up to the property line. They said the exit from the Hoyt building is onto the Schappert property, and the air conditioners intrude over the property line.
Harry Taylor, owner of H.H. Taylor & Son on Railroad Street, also expressed concern regarding the loss of an area that has been used for public parking since the 1960s.
“There’s a shortage of parking already on Railroad Street,” he told zoners at the hearing.
Mr. Taylor also raised concerns about possible contamination on the Schappert site. He said there was a former car dealer where the parking area would be, as well as a dry cleaner and former newspaper office nearby.