Rendering of Wall St. Pizza conversion.
Yale plans to transform the former home of Wall Street Pizza — and before that, Naples Pizza — into classrooms and gathering spaces.
The university shared that update at Tuesday evening’s Downtown-Wooster Square Community Management Team, soon after striking an agreement with the city that, if approved, would prolong the university’s property tax responsibilities for converted academic spaces.
The planned renovations to 82 – 90 Wall St. entail demolishing the pizza kitchen and dining space to build three classrooms, two of which could be merged into one larger space. The university also plans to create an indoor lounge area and an outdoor back patio in the former pizza restaurant, which has been vacant since 2019.
Yale plans “no real major changes on the upper levels” of the building, said Yale facilities planner James Fullton, other than replacing windows and performing some maintenance work on the facade.
The former Wall Street Pizza storefront has been vacant since 2019.
Blue State Coffee and Phil’s Hair Styles, the two other businesses in the building, will be able to remain open throughout construction, according to Fullton. The renovations will include adding a rear wheelchair accessible entry to Blue State Coffee.
Wooster Square resident Alex Werrell asked whether the Wall Street Pizza space contributes property taxes to the city.
“All the retail spaces are taxable,” replied Karen King, a community affairs associate at Yale.
“Given that they wouldn’t be retail spaces anymore, would [Yale] still need to pay taxes?” Werrell followed up.
“Technically, they wouldn’t be,” King said. “I don’t have a timeline of when that would be requested.” She added that Yale recently reached an agreement with the city that, if approved by the Board of Alders, would end property taxes at converted Yale properties gradually over 12 years rather than immediately.
King said she did not have information on how much Yale currently pays in taxes for the Wall Street space.
Fullton, Werrell, and King.
In floor plans for the renovations, the classroom and lounge area (where Wall Street Pizza formerly sat) are in blue.
Fullton alluded that the lobby and back patio may be open to the public, while upper floors of the building will remain accessible only via university key cards. “We’ve already had conversations with Blue State about using the back patio,” he said.
Wooster Square neighbor Lana Melonakos-Harrison asked how Yale plans to ensure that the patio space is welcoming to non-affiliates of the university. “Sometimes these public private partnerships can sometimes be tricky in terms of whether the public actually feels comfortable in those spaces,” she remarked.
“We’re trying to make it as visible as we can,” Fullton replied, noting that the accessible back door to Blue State will be class and offer a “visual connection to the new terrace.”
Yale hopes to undergo renovations from January 2023 to December 2023, pending the necessary approvals (including a Board of Zoning Appeals variance request that will be heard on April 12.)
An illustration of the back patio plans; the gray doors to the right will lead to Blue State, and will be made of glass.