Plaza Demo Done; Building Jobs Sought

Now that the old Dixwell Plaza has been knocked down and remediated, Terrance Lee wants a chance to help build it back up alongside other New Haveners.

Lee joined 20 other Dixwell and Newhallville residents in Stetson Library at 197 Dixwell Ave. Tuesday night for an update on ConnCORP’s long-anticipated redevelopment of Dixwell Plaza.

There, Lee and other neighbors pressed ConnCORP to hire local construction workers and contractors for the project.

Meanwhile, the redevelopment team assured neighbors that the organization still intends to go forward with building a mix of housing, retail, and community resources on Dixwell Avenue between Webster Street and Charles Street, even though progress has been slow.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” said ConnCORP Real Estate Vice President Ian Williams. ​“So don’t panic.”

The organization has long been planning to construct 184 apartments (20 percent of which will be set aside at below-market rents), a food hall and grocery store, a new Cornell Scott Hill Health Center location, a Friends Center for Children-affiliated daycare, a public plaza, additional retail spots, and a parking lot where the former Dixwell Plaza once stood. ConnCAT has also planned to relocate its headquarters, currently based in Science Park, to the Dixwell Avenue location.

So far, all of the buildings have been demolished, save for a police substation and Cornell Scott Hill Health Center’s original Dixwell Plaza location. Those last buildings will ultimately get demolished, said ConnCORP Chief Operating Officer Paul McCraven, but for now they are still operating as usual.

Meanwhile, the rest of the site has been environmentally remediated. The developers plan to request bids for initial stages of construction starting in June. They anticipate completing the first phase of the project, which will include the healthcare and daycare centers, the new ConnCAT home base, and a public plaza, by 2026.

Among the attendees of Tuesday’s meeting were local workers and business owners seeking to contribute to the project.

That included Lee, a unionized construction apprentice from New Haven, who was the first to raise his hand with a question. He asked whether the project’s construction workers will include local residents, and whether they will be unionized.

Tim Kostuk, a vice president of the construction manager on the project, Whiting-Turner, replied that his company aims to employ ​“not only New Haven residents, but Newhallville and Dixwell residents.” 

He urged anyone interested in a job to reach out to Tyra Stanley of New Haven Works (tyra@newhavenworkspipeline.org) as well as Whiting-Turner’s Kaitlin Aviles (020822@whiting-turner.com).

After the meeting, Kostuk elaborated that whether workers will be unionized depends on the contractors who win bids for the project. ​“We don’t dictate if it’s union or non-union,” he said.

Attendees continued to press Kostuk on hiring local residents.

Jean Jenkins referenced another Whiting-Turner construction project down the block at 222 Canal St. ​“I don’t see nobody from there on that site from this neighborhood,” she said.

“We definitely have some locals from DIxwell-Newhallville,” Kostuk replied. ​“Unfortunately, we don’t hire the workers, we hire the trade contractors. We can only connect [anyone interested in a job] to the contractors.”

Michelle Cave, a construction worker and union steward who said she lives down the street, asked how the company will verify whether people are really from New Haven if they say they are. ​“A lot of people will use a New Haven address” without actually living here, she said.

“We’re going to do the best we can,” said Williams. The organization could require proof-of-residency, such as a piece of mail received at a New Haven address, a colleague added.

ConnCORP CEO Erik Clemons noted that ​“there can be someone who lives in New Haven with a Boston accent.” 

Cave nodded, conceding Clemons’ point. ​“I have an Island accent” from Trinidad, she said with a laugh.

Newhallville resident Carlota Clark pointed out that many local residents have the skills to do construction work, but they may not have the proper licensing and insurance.

Clemons agreed. ​“That is a historical issue in our community,” he said. He announced that ConnCAT plans to soon launch a ​“pre-apprenticeship” program for local residents interested in the trade, with a focus on carpentry, electrical work, and plumbing. Trainees at that program could eventually become part of the Dixwell Plaza reconstruction, he said.

What about local small business owners who want a shot at being hired as one of the 40 or so contractors anticipated for the project?

Jose Cuapio, who owns the Guilford-based flooring company Floor Craze, said after the meeting that the bidding system for these kinds of construction projects can often be ​“overwhelming,” especially for smaller businesses with less experience. ​“The paperwork, bureaucracy, that’s rough.” He said he may be interested in bidding on the project, but primarily hopes to spread the word among fellow business owners.

During the meeting, Cuapio asked about ​“workshops to guide people who may not have the experience or know how to bid.”

Kostuk replied that Whiting-Turner does host such workshops, and that businesses can sign up to pre-qualify with the company. He also suggested reaching out to the Minority Construction Council and New Haven’s Small Business Resource Center.

After the meeting, several attendees said they planned to seek out work at the Dixwell Plaza project.

Dixwell resident Raymond Thompson had learned about Tuesday’s meeting while passing by the Canal Street construction site on his bike. He inquired about a construction job there, and Kostuk recommended that he come out to the meeting. A former truck driver who worked construction jobs back when he lived in Jamaica, Thompson said after the meeting that he does intend to apply for a job building Dixwell Plaza. 

So does Lee, who said he’s lived in New Haven his whole life. ​“Especially because my daughter goes to New Haven Reads right here,” down the street by Scantlebury Park. Lee envisions working a shift at Dixwell Plaza, then picking up his daughter from after-school literacy tutoring to go home together.