Trial set for Nov. 16 in Troy Mills developer’s dispute with town

The project received roughly $1 million in ARPA funds and was originally supposed to be ready for occupancy by May 2024.

The legal fight between Troy developer Eric Farris and the town of Troy is headed to trial on Monday, Nov. 16, after a Cheshire County Superior Court ruling narrowed but did not end the case.

At the center of the dispute is a development on Monadnock Street that was expected to add more than 100 housing units to the town, including 29 affordable apartments. Farris says the project stalled because the town would not provide municipal water and sewer connections, a problem he says could put about $1 million in state grant money at risk.

The town has denied any wrongdoing, and its water sewer commission later became a defendant in the case as well. In May, Judge Anne Edwards ruled that the record did not show Farris had a legal right to the hookups he wanted. She also granted the town part of its request to dismiss the bad faith claim as a separate cause of action.

Other claims remain alive for trial, including allegations that Farris was treated unfairly and a municipal estoppel argument. That doctrine can stop a town from changing course when someone has relied on the government’s own representations.

The project received roughly $1 million in ARPA funds and was originally supposed to be ready for occupancy by May 2024. Farris said in April 2025 that all of that money had already been spent, but the 29 affordable units were still not habitable and no part of the site was occupiable.

Farris has argued that the town and the water sewer commission are responsible for the project’s failure to move forward. The commission, however, says he did not satisfy the requirements for the utility connections and still could have completed at least the portion tied to the grant.

During a pretrial hearing Friday, lawyers said jurors are expected to visit the development site on Monadnock Street as part of the proceedings.