CREW CT 2025 Blue Ribbon Brochure

Springside Middletown

Middletown, CT

Springside Middletown offers luxurious market-rate rental apartments and townhomes situated on a 48-acre site along the Coginchaug River. The $83 million development has recently finished construction of the first phase of the project, consisting of 240 residential units spread over eleven buildings. Designed to attract tenants of all backgrounds and age groups, Springside Middletown provides several on-site amenities including a large community building consisting of a “great room” for relaxation and entertaining guests, co-working spaces, private offices, conference rooms, and a mail room. Adjacent to the community building is the fitness and recreation building, which consists of a fully equipped, state of-the-art fitness center, golf simulator, yoga studio, and children’s playroom. Nestled between the community building and the fitness and recreation building is a large swimming pool with splash pad and sundeck, poolside cabanas, covered outdoor bar and grill, community patio with gas fire pits and comfortable outdoor lounge furniture, and pickle ball courts for all residents to enjoy. The architectural team took inspiration for the amenity buildings from the bucolic surrounding area. The site backs up to the Coginchaug River, which feeds into the nearby Connecticut River. The buildings were meant to feel like barns in a meadow. The landscape was planned with high grasses and wildflowers, and the building forms were simplified to be long, elegant gable end structures. The two primary structures define space between them, at their front with an entrance courtyard, and at their rear with the pool area and exterior lounge areas. A third structure with a similar shape was added to house an outdoor dining area. The interior design was meant to be clean and modern that lived in this traditional form. The great room is an example of this approach with its wood frame giving way to an entirely glazed gable end with views to the pool and development beyond. The entire composition provides a fun and interesting place to which all residents enjoy walking. A welcoming boulevard entrance is provided from Newfield Street, which is framed by the two-story townhome buildings along each side, providing a neighborhood scale view as visitors and residents drive into the site. High end materials like blue stone Belgian block curbing, concrete sidewalks, decorative site lighting, and finely manicured landscaping line the boulevard entry. At the end of the drive users enter a roundabout near the center of the property. Residents can then continue to their units by selecting the appropriate drive or they can choose to stop at the large community building and fitness and recreation building located adjacent to the roundabout. The nearby wetlands, Coginchaug River, and floodplain are all natural resource amenities to the development. The design takes advantage of these resources by incorporating walking trails around the perimeter of the wetland areas. In addition, Newfield Residential Partners has been working with Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments and the City of Middletown to plan for a multi-use trail connection that will ultimately connect downtown Middletown to Newfield Street, adding to the multi-use trails in the area network.

Owner — Newfield Residential Partners

Project Size — 240 Residential Units

Project Team — Fuss & O'Neill Inc., Thomas J. Brennan Architects, Beinfield Architects

24 Blue Ribbon Awards 2025