West Side Public Housing Deals Advance

The housing authority has received key city sign-offs on its plans to redevelop two westside public housing complexes, as well as a tentative thumbs up for a tax abatement deal that would facilitate seven more property rehabs.

Those public housing project approvals all came during last week’s regular monthly City Plan Commission meeting, which played out over five hours and 45 minutes on the second floor of City Hall.

Commissioners unanimously approved the site plan for phase one of the Housing Authority of New Haven / Elm City Communities’ redevelopment of Westville Manor at 19 Level St.

They also recommended approval of a Planned Development District (PDD), or suite of large-scale, project-specific zoning changes, for the proposed overhaul of the Valley Street Apartments.

And they passed along a positive recommendation for the city’s plans to enter into three separate tax abatement deals with the housing authority, the Glendower Group, which is the housing authority’s development arm, and a trio of other holding companies owned by the housing authority, that would allow for the rehabilitation of public housing at Fulton Park, Stanley Justice, Waverly Townhouses, Charles T. McQueeney Towers, Winslow-Celentano, Fairmont Heights, and Matthew Ruopolo.

The proposed Valley Street PDD and the proposed tax abatement cooperation agreements now move along to the Board of Alders for public committee hearings and a final vote.

“Does it further the goals and aims of the Vision 2025 comprehensive plan to assist in the development of this collection of affordable housing units?” Westville Alder and City Plan Commissioner Adam Marchand asked about the proposed tax abatement deal as the clock neared midnight. The City Plan Commission is charged with offering recommendations as to how various projects impact the planned physical development of the city, after all, and not specifically on municipal fiscal priorities.

“I think the Board [of Alders] will have to decide: Are we getting a good bang for our buck? Do we like these numbers from a financial perspective? But for us, the question is: Does this kind of partnership that’s intended to develop and improve affordable housing stock in the city, is that in harmony with our goals of the comprehensive plan?”

Marchand and his fellow commissioners ultimately voted yes, not just for the proposed cooperation agreements, but for all three housing authority items that came before the commission Wednesday night.

Westville Manor

The Westville Manor site plan that commissioners signed off on was largely the same as by housing authority officials and local architect Ken Boroson back in March when the commission recommended approval for this project’s PDD.

“It’s not that old,” Elm City Communities Vice President of Development Edward LaChance said about the existing 1980s-era, 150-unit complex, ​“but it was not a good development.”

He and local architect Kenneth Boroson explained that the phase one of the project will see the demolition of 11 existing buildings and 11 existing buildings and four existing parking areas and the construction of 50 new units: in a three-story, 22-unit building, 12 duplexes, and one four-plex.

The entire project will see all 150 affordable units replaced by a total of 109 units, 80 percent of which will be affordable and 20 percent market rate, with the balance of affordable units being relocated to the Rock View apartment complex nearby.

Pending state approval of the housing authority’s funding application, consultant Jim Miller said, the housing authority hopes to begin construction on phase one of Westville Manor by October 2020.

Valley Street Apartments

Commissioners also recommended approval of the housing authority’s application for a PDD for to redevelop the Valley Street Apartments public housing complex.

That project will see the demolition of the complex’s existing half-century-old 40 affordable housing units and the construction of 55 new housing units, 44 of which will be affordable and 11 market-rate.

“The units that are there are not rehabable,” LaChance said about the current site’s persistent problems with ​“moisture issues.” Miller said that this project is on the same financing timeline as Westville Manor: The housing authority hopes to get funding approval from the Connecticut Finance Housing Authority (CHFA) in March 2020, and then begin construction in October of that year.

Westville/Amity Alder Richard Furlow (pictured), who represents the district that includes the Valley Street Apartments, offered his support for the proposed PDD, but not without chastising the housing authority for the poor current living conditions at the complex and for not doing a good enough job to reach out to neighbors about the planned redevelopment.

“This is an underserved and underserviced community,” he said, where housing is beset by mildew. ​“I am just really angry at the conditions of these apartments.”

He said the housing authority called a community meeting about the proposed redevelopment just the night before, and only a dozen people attended.

“We need more collaboration,” he said, ​“between the city departments and our alders when these projects come through.”

Tax Abatement Deal

One of the last items on the night’s lengthy agenda was the proposed order of the Board of Alders that would allow the city to enter into three separate cooperation agreements with the housing authority, Glendower Group, and ECC Group II Rad LLC, ECC Group III Rad LLC, and ECC Group IV Rad LLC for the redevelopment of a seven different existing public housing complexes.

The City Plan staff report states that the agreements would fix taxes for all seven projects at $350 per unit with a 3 per annum increase over 39 years.

For Fulton Park, Stanley Justice, and Waverly Townhouses, the cumulative base tax would be $24,500. For McQueeney Towers and Winslow-Celentano, the cumulative base tax would be $75,550. And for Fairmont Heights and Matthew Ruopolo Manor, the cumulative base tax would be $70,350.

“Over several years, the Housing Authority has worked through its development arm, Glendower Group, to revitalize many of the mid- to small-scale public housing developments in the portfolio through HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Program, or RAD,” the department’s advisory report reads. ​“This is a nationwide program which facilitates redevelopment by converting the portfolio to leverage and obtain private financing. Public housing units across the country need more than $26 billion in repairs and many public housing agencies (PHAs) do not have enough money to keep units in good condition. RAD provides PHAs a way to rehabilitate, or repair, units without depending solely [on] additional money from the government.

“Here in New Haven, the plan for Phases II-IV will enable rehabilitation and preservation of 484 affordable units at scattered sites citywide. The total value of the investment is just over $110 million with all projects to be completed by June 2020 as per schedules in the exhibits.”

Commissioner Jonathan Wharton, the former chair of the city’s Republican Town Committee, voiced his support for the project along with Marchand. ​“If anything,” he said, ​“I think we need more of this kind of thing to take place.” That is: More city-sanctioned tax abatements in order to facilitate housing development and rehabilitation.