Is the Housing Authority of New Haven becoming an historic preservationist organization? Could be.
At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Quinnipiac River Community Group, a small group of neighbors got a first chance to assess HANH’s restoration plans for this recently HANH-purchased historic house on Quinnipiac Avenue. They were pleasantly surprised.
None of the architectural nightmares they feared appear to be coming to pass.
When the 1830s Italianate house was purchased in October by HANH as part of its scattered-site housing program, locals wondered out loud whether HANH and its tenants had the know-how or the budget to restore and care for a historic property. Ater all, HANH has not done anything like this in the past.
After a spirited public protest, HANH backed down. That was in June. Then it changed its mind and proceeded to purchase in October.
Fears, said area activist Chris Ozyck, had included that HANH might tear down the fa√ßade or alter the elegant floor-to-ceiling windows. Because kids will be likely be living in the two-family house when it’s complete, for example, the elegant windows will be strengthened with tempered glass. However, according to the drawings, they will not be altered in dimension. Nor will the ceiling be lowered, all of which would have been preservationist sins.
Apparently none will be committed. At least so the drawings indicate.
David Zakur, who looked over the plans with area developer Fershteh Bekhrad, said even the interior looked good, with many of the charm elements to be preserved. “Even the banisters, the fireplaces, along with the windows will all still be there if the house goes back to private hands.”
Neighbors had first opposed HANH’s purchase, not on NIMBY grounds, but on grounds of preservationist concerns. Tuesday night they gave HANH a provisional thumbs up for keeping the character of the house .
“Our interest,” said Ozyck, “is that HANH does continue to do right by the residents they put in there and by the neighbors along the river.”
Ozyck said he was also heartened by the new centralized system HANH has put in place for the management of scattered site housing program.
The scrutiny of the drawings did reveal some concerns. “The garage,” Ozyck said, “is what I’m most worried about. Right now the drawings don’t show that anything is going to be done with it.”
The garage is a two-story carriage house, attractive in its own right, and part of an elevated, noble setting above the avenue.
“It has to be taken care of as well, “he said, “or otherwise it’s demolition by neglect.”
Bekhrad, who lost out on the bidding to HANH, raised another concern out of her expertise as a developer: “These plans are one thing, but will the real work to be done, on the moldings and so forth? All the details, will they reflect the drawings? And who will make sure it’s done right? If they run out of money, or if there are unfunded elements, will they end up with an unfinished building or one finished too quickly?”
HANH purchased the house for approximately $300,000. The restoration budget is another $250,000. The single bidder to do the restoration work is Crystal Property Management. The expectation is that the house will be in live-in condition by this summer.
Ozyck cited his experience abroad: “You walk through a European town and you don’t know which buildings are private and which are public housing. That’s the way it should be here.”
The group voted to write a letter to HANH, which had provided the drawings, to compliment staff on the work thus far and to ask to follow the the work as it progresses. Ozyck was also charged to remind HANH of the importance of safeguarding the carriage house.
“With all the condo-ization along the river, it’s also critical,” said Ozyck, “to have a number of houses whose characters remind us of what this area was. 759 is one of those.”