Solid demand reported in new Wilton development

PHOTOGRAPHER: David Lombardo

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The first phase of a 62-home development in Wilton that is being billed as affordable luxury housing is in hot demand.

Belmonte Builders is looking to start putting up the first 19 homes this fall on its 30-acre tract named The Mill at Smith’s Bridge. The project, which is located at Smith’s Bridge Road and Davidson Drive, near the town’s border with Saratoga Springs, will be developed in three phases and offer unique homes for under $400,000, said Belmonte Builders Sales and Marketing Director Mickey Ricciardi.

“They’re highly detailed homes that aren’t as large as other homes we build, but have a lot of the same features,” he said, explaining the affordable luxury tagline.

The houses come with detailed millwork and trim, Dutch accents and built-in cabinetry. Additionally, they’re designed from nine different varieties that can be individually customized to the point where neighbors with the same basic plans can have completely different homes when construction is finished.

“We’re just seeing a need in the marketplace for more affordable homes that have the feel of a custom home,” Ricciardi said. “The response from the marketplace has been fantastic”

He said the company likely will have to do a lottery drawing for the first round of lots because people have already spoken for most of the available ones.

Roads and other infrastructure are expected to be started by September and home construction could start in October. All three phases, including building the homes and selling them, could be done in about three years, Ricciardi said.

To accommodate the increase in traffic near the development at the intersection of Smith’s Bridge Road and Jones Road, town engineer Ryan Riper noted that trees inhibiting the sight distance of drivers near the intersection are being pulled back. “It should make that intersection a little bit safer,” he said.

The development of The Mill at Smith’s Bridge represents a turnaround in home construction and sales that Ricciardi said has been seen for about a year.

In new homes particularly, he said, there has been a dramatic uptick in sales from the low period following the housing crash of about five years ago.