Let me take you on a tour of Madison Landing. I'd like to show you the green
expanse of the neighborhood square, where friends will meet to talk, to share
lunch or to enjoy a beautiful summer day. We can walk the sidewalks on an autumn
evening, catching the briny scent of Long Island Sound mixed with the smell of
wood smoke from a nearby fireplace.
We can stop by the Meetinghouse and listen in on a presentation by one of Madison's
arts groups, then walk across the street to Cohen's for a bagel brunch. We might
quietly walk the still outer streets of Madison Landing, the ones near the public
walking trail that borders the marsh. Or we might just plant ourselves on the
front steps of our new home and watch the world go by.
This is life in Madison Landing. And if some of it sounds familiar, it's because
Madison Landing takes its cues from the Town of Madison. It was designed to blend
with the social, cultural, and architectural mix that already thrives here.
This new neighborhood seeks to draw local residents - to live here, to visit
friends and family here, to come together in the neighborhood "post office," picking
up mail and stopping for a chat, and to enjoy the walking trail around the neighborhood's
edge. In this way, Madison Landing becomes woven into the fabric of the existing
town.
Madison Landing was designed to supplement the existing residential mix available
in the Town of Madison. By providing homes that require less time and money to
maintain, Madison Landing allows active adults to continue to live in the area.
Nationally, a high percentage of active adults sell their homes and move to other
areas. How wonderful it is to provide a place for them right here, allowing Madison
to capture this desirable social and economic asset for the town.
Officially, a tour should begin at the neighborhood entrance road, near Hammonasset
Beach State Park. This road offers views of the Meetinghouse across an expansive
lawn.
Though entirely residential, the neighborhood includes a mix of buildings. The
Meetinghouse includes a meeting hall, card room, library, game room and fitness
center. There is an outdoor swimming pool, locker room facility, and a delightful
neighborhood "post office," where neighbors will meet while picking
up their mail.
The neighborhood takes advantage of its beautiful natural setting with small
parks and pavilions and a walking trail along the salt marshes. This trail, with
parking spaces at its beginning for members of the public who want to drive to
it, offers a place to exercise, to think, and to take in the splendid views.
Residents of Madison Landing might also walk over to Hammonasset Beach and enjoy
miles of beach and hiking trails.
Like a neighborhood that has evolved over time, Madison Landing includes a variety
of residential types - condominiums, townhomes and a variety of single-family
homes. To accommodate the active adult residents, most of the residences offer
all of the spaces necessary for daily living - including a bedroom and full bathroom
- on the first floor.
All of the homes are a comfortable walk away from the Meetinghouse and neighborhood
green. Condominiums and townhomes are nearest to the neighborhood center; larger
home sites are around the perimeter.
There is a range of thoroughfares within Madison Landing. The primary neighborhood
streets offer two-way travel, parallel parking, trees, and sidewalks on both
sides. Side streets offer parking, trees, and sidewalks, and allow for the slow
passage of cars. The back lanes provide vehicular access to the rear of most
of the home sites. Paths and passages offer residents and visitors interesting
shortcuts through the neighborhood.
The lawns surrounding the homes are modest, providing "outdoor rooms" on
a scale that requires minimal maintenance but provides space for gardening, cookouts,
and other activities - an asset in a community of active adults. These outdoor
rooms are frequently accessible from several indoor rooms and visible from still
more, thus expanding the apparent size of the home. The front yard is relatively
shallow so that front porches are within talking distance of the sidewalk. This
greatly facilitates the kind of neighborhood interaction already enjoyed in many
parts of Madison.
Once we have finished our tour, I think you will begin to understand that Madison
Landing is not a subdivision or a developed plot of land at the fringe of the
town; it is a neighborhood just like the others that are, collectively, Madison,
Connecticut.