Melissa Bailey Photo
The mayor Monday night honored New Haven Promise scholars Jordy Padilla, Priscilla Maldonado and Adisa John.
New Haven might be getting out of the theater-landlord business — with the aim, one day, of maybe even stepping away from the theater-subsidy business.
That revelation came Monday night tucked into Mayor John DeStefano’s 20th and final “State of the City” address.
Outlining plans for his final year in office, Mayor John DeStefano vowed to get the Shubert Theater off of the city’s hands and reboot long-stalled plans to tear down and rebuild the Church Street South housing projects. He also in passing dramatically lowered one of his main goals for school reform — claiming New Haven will close the statewide achievement gap in 2018 rather than 2015.
DeStefano’s address took place in the Aldermanic Chambers of City Hall. DeStefano, who just announced plans not to seek an 11th two-year term, used the occasion to map out what he hopes to accomplish in his final 330 days in the mayor’s seat. His speech outlined some longstanding goals, such as staying the course of the city’s school reform drive and its shift to community policing, and a couple of new proposals. Click here to read his speech.
One new idea concerned the Shubert, the legendary College Street theater that served for years as a test stage for future Broadway musicals.
The theater, which is set to turn 100 next year, has struggled to make ends meet over the years. It went shuttered for over a decade before reopening in 1985. The city now owns the building and retains a private not-for-profit group, Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), to manage the space. City subsidies have helped keep the theater afloat; the city contributed $250,000 towards the Shubert’s operating budget this fiscal year. (State Rep. Pat Dillon is currently seeking $3.45 million in state bonding for long-term repairs.)
DeStefano called for a deal that would “transfer ownership and responsibility” of the theater “out of city hands and to a professional not-for-profit theater operator.” After his speech, he clarified that the not-for-profit would be CAPA.
The city has been in talks with CAPA about the transfer, he said. He hoped the transfer would create a “fierce sense of ownership” that would allow CAPA to attract more private donors.
In the long term, DeStefano said, the city would reduce its financial contributions to the theater. The mayor was asked if the city would put the building out to bid. DeStefano said he had not thought through what the process would be.
“I would hope to get it to CAPA,” he said.
Aldermanic President Jorge Perez said he did get briefed on the subject by the Shubert, but he doesn’t know the details of the current proposal, and so does not have an opinion on it.
Church Street South
Allan Appel Photo
Officers Karl Jacobson & Mark DeCarvalho patrol Church Street South.
DeStefano also announced plans to reboot stalled development at Church Street South, aka “The Jungle,” a rundown, privately owned housing project across from Union Station. The city has for years sought to redevelop the area, in part because it serves as an unattractive gateway to the city for visitors arriving by train. New Haven’s housing authority teamed up with a major residential developer, Northland Investment Corporation of Boston, on plans to tear down the concrete 1960s projects and build a new mix of homes and stores.
Plans have gone nowhere, however, while Northland, the landlord, has let conditions deteriorate in the 301-family complex. Slum conditions came to the forefront two years ago, when a poorly installed furnace leaked dangerous levels of carbon monoxide into the air, sending four adults and one child to the hospital. At the time, the city had been chasing after the landlord to eliminate a deadly CO threat. Northland was shamed into fixing up the apartments after that widely publicized episode.
The city distributed some conceptual drawings a year ago for a mixed-use development with 600 – 800 residential units and 200,000 to 400,000 square feet of office and retail space. Neighborhood leaders raised concerns about density, affordability, and where displaced families would go.
The mayor said Monday he plans to work with Hill aldermen on “a plan for Church Street South that respects residents and families.”
DeStefano said before the city can “engage the owner,” Northland, “there needs to be a consensus” among city officials. He said the city and aldermen need to “step back” and develop a vision.
President Perez, who represents part of the Hill neighborhood, said aldermen met recently about Church Street South.
“There’s been a lot of false starts” on the project, he said. Neighborhood leaders “want to establish principles of development” before going further, including the number of affordable and family units. Church Street South has the largest number of multi-family apartments of any complex in the city, according to DeStefano.
Also this year, DeStefano said the city plans to move forward with plans to develop the stretch of Route 34 between Orchard and Sherman. That would add to work already under way at the other end of Route 34, where a biomedical office complex called 100 College Street is set to rise.
Make That 8 Years, Not 5
DeStefano revised his estimate on how many years the school reform drive will take to close the achievement gap between city students and their statewide peers on standardized tests. Because the city missed the mark on test score targets, New Haven now aims to close the gap eight years after the reform drive launched in 2010, not after five years, he said. That puts the new target year at 2018.
DeStefano continued to focus attention on improving the number of New Haven public school graduates who succeed in college. He publicly recognized three students in the first class of New Haven Promise scholarship recipients who are now enrolled in their fourth semesters of college. And he recognized Wilbur Cross High School for posting the highest gains in the city on graduation rates.