Why Edgewater Hill won East Hampton neighbors' hearts

The Stephen J. Motto family's vision of a commercial-residential anchor on Route 66 on East Hampton's eastern rim began taking shape a decade ago, as they were erecting the first units of their then-nascent Laurel Ridge housing subdivision.

The 88-lot, over-55, active-adult community development, after a slow start exacerbated by the recession, is now built out, drawing many of its residents from other parts of the state to this former lakeside-resort town of just under 13,000 residents in Middlesex County.

Steve Motto and spouse-business partner Lisa M. Motto are focused on their latest realty venture, Edgewater Hill — a mixed-use development with office-retail space and apartments planned for its first phase.

Even with its "A''-list Hartford architect who designed West Hartford's Blue Back Square and a nationally renowned "new urbanism" planning adviser on board, Edgewater Hill stands out most for its embrace in a town where many past development projects were greeted by skeptical neighbors and ultimately smothered in politics.

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