Concern Mounts Over Greenwich Academy’s Glenville Campus Expansion
A plan by private all-girls school Greenwich Academy to develop a sprawling new satellite campus on 54 forested acres at 0 Glenville Road met fierce resistance from residents and sharp questioning from the Planning & Zoning Commission during a public hearing on Tuesday, October 27.
Listen to the recording here.
The Multi-Phase Plan
The site—a pristine, heavily wooded former Rockefeller parcel purchased in 2023—is slated for a sweeping, multi-phase transformation across R-7, RA-1, and RA-2 residential zones:
Phase I introduces an access drive off Riversville Road, a central circulation loop, eight units of faculty housing, a classroom building for 120 first- and second-grade students, an outdoor play area, at least 87 surface parking spaces, and a nine-court squash center complete with bleachers and exhibition space.
Subsequent phases would expand classroom space for kindergarten, third, and fourth grades—increasing Glenville campus enrollment to 300 students—while adding ancillary student facilities, south-side surface parking, an outdoor classroom, and a regional sports complex featuring an athletic field built over a parking garage alongside a secondary athletic pavilion.
Neighbors and Commissioners Voice Alarm
Dozens of neighbors submitted letters of opposition here and testified remotely via Zoom, echoing concerns regarding traffic gridlock, ecological destruction, and the loss of open space:
Traffic and Dangerous Cut-Throughs:
Commissioners and neighbors pressed the applicant on the compounding impact of traffic along Riversville Road and Pecksland Road. Neighbor Betsy Underhill of Riversville Road noted that cut-through traffic from commuters avoiding the Merritt Parkway and Interstate 684 already overwhelms the roadway. Andrea and Jonathan Hjelte pointed to a notorious curve on Pecksland Road—previously considered for staff/bus egress and now proposed as an emergency-only access point—where severe accidents, including a rollover crash, have already occurred.
Deforestation and Drainage Along Byram River:
Francia Alvarez of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy noted the property boasts a 97.6% urban tree canopy and demanded exact counts of the trees marked for destruction. Residents Ari Lefkovits and others warned that stripping woodland and expanding impervious surfaces would exacerbate chronic flooding for downstream homeowners along the Byram River in Pemberwick.
“Bait-and-Switch” Sports Complex:
Longtime neighbor Janet Lockton characterized the multi-phase rollout as a "multi-phase bait-and-switch," asserting that the school is masking a massive, 500-person regional tournament hub behind the premise of a small elementary school. "There are five courts now at North Maple. Why do they need 15 courts? That's more than any school in the whole universe," Lockton testified, pointing out that students would still need to be shuttled back and forth between campuses for field sports. Lockton also urged the town to mandate an archeological survey due to historical Native American artifacts found on the parcel.
Plan of Conservation & Development (POCD) Conflict:
Commissioner Dennis Yeskey highlighted that the town's POCD prioritizes preserving community character and open space, noting that P&Z had previously rejected other institutional expansions in residential neighborhoods.
Between the Lines: While private schools are technically a permitted use in residential zones under special permits, the sheer density of a sports hub, surface lots, and satellite elementary classrooms on a fragile watershed will require an extensive public relations campaign by Greenwich Academy to win over neighbors and environmentalists. Not to mention, this private school development permanently removes a massive parcel from the municipal property tax rolls.