New 3-story apartment project in Madison The Bradley was a dream of late civic leader Jack Davis
MADISON — It was the vision of Madison civic leader Jack Davis to build an apartment building at 110 Bradley Road. Two months after his death in April 2021, construction has begun and is expected to be completed by late summer.
The Bradley is owned by brothers Jerry and Stephen Davis, partners of Davis Realty, Inc.
“He’s everywhere,” said Jerry Davis, showing emotion as he spoke of his father, the founder of Davis Realty, as he stood in the shade of the now Tyvek-wrapped 3-story building.
He talked about Clippership Row, an apartment building tucked behind the EC Scranton Memorial Library in downtown Madison, which his parents, Jack and Helen Davis, built.
“They started this in 1978, when there was no apartment building in downtown Madison,” he said. “So that’s a vision they had back then. So that fits perfectly with what they started doing all those years ago.
And now Davis Realty’s newest project is the 30-unit, 35-foot-tall apartment complex that sits on the 1.5-acre site at 110-114 Bradley Road. The land once housed Tuxis Laundromat, Artistic Sign Language LLC, Junk-2-Junque and two private residences.
The site plan includes 48 parking spaces, at the rear of the complex, supplemented by charging stations for electric vehicles.
So far, the response to Resident Development has been mixed, with both fans and detractors alike.
William Cauley, who often travels down Bradley Road to get to the city centre, said he didn’t think the building was appropriate for the site.
“It’s too big for where it is, and I think once all that Bradley Road is done it’s going to be a driving nightmare,” the Madison resident said.
Jim Reinhart, owner of the Wall Street Gallery, down the street from the Bradley, for 40 years, eagerly awaits the opening of the complex.
“As a small business person, I look forward to having potential clients just down the street with an empty apartment that needs framed and hung pictures,” he said.
A recent post from Reinhart, on the Madison, CT Facebook page, elicited more than 300 comments – pros and cons. The post contained a photo of the construction with an intro that read: ‘In case you haven’t been on Bradley Road lately.’
“I was trying to get feedback. I think I did pretty well,” he said with a laugh.
“I love quaint old Madison, of course,” he said. “I’ve been here for over 40 years, but I don’t doubt the change. Things change.
“Twenty years from now this building is going to be quaint,” he said. “Things evolve, things change. I don’t think we wanted to turn Madison into a museum.
A 40 year vision
Davis Realty bought the property in 2009 for $1.1 million from George Noewatne, according to land records.
The Davis brothers said it was always their father’s vision to build an apartment building on this site.
“It was his idea to call him The Bradley,” Jerry Davis said.
“We wish he could have lived to see the construction,” the 62-year-old said. “We were both with him every day for the past two years [of his life].”
“Just coming here, seeing the construction every day, would have kept him alive for another five years,” he added. “No question.”
Jerry Davis said they were filling a local housing need.
“There aren’t enough places to live in the city,” he said. “A lot of people who would like to move here because they are employed in the area or people who want to sell their house but don’t want to leave town.”
Stephen Davis pointed out that this area of the city, historically, was industrial.
“It was an active part of town,” the 67-year-old said.
The brothers spoke of the forge that stood on the site over 100 years ago.
“When working on the site, they would occasionally find a horseshoe and also old glass bottles,” said Jerry Davis.
“When the cement slab of the laundromat was lifted, in one section of the laundromat was a gigantic cache of old irons,” he added. “We had the Madison Historical Society come over and take a whole bunch of stuff for their collection and George Noewatne, whose father was the blacksmith, came over and took some for himself.”
Standing in what will be the parking lot, with saws buzzing in the background, Jerry and Stephen Davis spoke about the historic nature of the site.
“It’s not just horseshoes,” Jerry Davis said. “There are wagon wheels and old files used on horse hooves and other wagon parts.”
“It was a work zone,” added Stephen Davis.
“Our architects took that into consideration in the design,” said Jerry Davis, referring to Joel Bargmann, director of Boston’s Bargmann, Hendrie + Archetype, Inc.
“I think a building that has a bit more of an industrial kind of feel is appropriate for this location,” he added.
The exterior of the building will be clapboard siding in fiber cement, a composite material made of sand, cement and cellulose fibres. The Allura USA colors listed in their blueprints are “Knights Armour”, “Sterling Gray”, and “Cool Charcoal”.
The building will have 18 two-bedroom apartments ranging from 940 to 1,150 square feet and 12 one-bedroom apartments ranging from 720 to 1,110 square feet.
Rental prices have yet to be determined, according to the developers.
Jerry Davis talked about who they hope to be attracted to this living environment.
“I hope there will be families, as well as singles,” he said.
“I think commuters would definitely appreciate it because of the proximity to the train station,” he added. “People who want to be able to maybe have a car because they live downtown and they don’t necessarily need two for a couple who might want to live here and people who don’t necessarily want to owning a home and having those responsibilities of owning will find it appealing.
He said the living space will be “luxurious,” with subway tile tubs, quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring.
The 590 square foot lobby will include a package room, fitness room, indoor bike storage and dog wash for resident dogs. Rooftop terraces with grills will be open to residents.
In addition, Jerry Davis will create a historical exhibit with the forge objects.
Madison resident Charlie Shafer can’t wait to see the finished project.
“I don’t think it’s bad so far, it will be curious to see him fully dressed,” he said, referring to the completed building.
“It was funny, because at first I was like, ‘Ah, that’s really big,'” Shafer said. “But then I got up and looked at it next to The Hearth and it’s like, ‘It’s okay.’ ”
“When it does, it will be one of those things that in two years no one will even remember what it looked like before,” he said. “Because it’s going to look really good and honestly, if you’re going to put an apartment building somewhere, it’s as good a place as any.”
Sustainable construction practices used
The Davis Brothers are excited to have CE Floyd Company, Inc. on board as their general contractor.
The site is clean and uncluttered, proof of the company’s commitment to sustainable development.
“Instead of throwing away a 2-by-4, they’re reusing it, it doesn’t just end up in a garbage pile,” said Kyle Bopp, the project’s chief superintendent.
In the south-east corner are dumpsters dedicated to recyclable materials. Stephen Davis is proud that 77% of debris ends up in dumpsters – metal, wood carpet, ceiling tiles, concrete, drywall, card stock.
The company is in the process of applying for B Corporation certification. As such, they would join other “global companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency”, according to bcorporation.net.
Locally, CE Floyd was the general contractor for the new Big Y World Class Market at the Indian River Shops in Clinton and the Madison Beach Hotel renovation in 2010.
Nationally, 1,768 companies have B Corp status, including Allbirds, Inc., Arbonne International, Ben and Jerry’s, Eileen Fisher, Inc. and King Arthur Baking Company.
“In general, it’s about an overhaul of how businesses operate, especially general contractors,” said Lindsey Webber, brand and impact specialist at CE Floyd.
“How we treat our employees, how we treat the environment, how we choose our customers and how we treat our customers,” she added.
For Stephen and Jerry Davis, it’s a good choice.
“Our mission and tagline is ‘Community First,'” Stephen Davis said. treat their own staff well, pay attention to health and safety.
As Jerry and Stephen Davis stood in what will be the Bradley’s parking lot, they talked about what Madison means to them.
“We were born and raised here and we live here,” said Jerry Davis. “And our business is all here.”
“We both lived in other places and came back here,” he said. “I think that says a lot about where our heart is.”