After almost a decade-long wait, the planning and then noisy construction at College and Crown Streets has yielded a luxury apartment building in the center of a rapidly changing downtown.
Officials gathered at the corner Thursday morning for the grand opening of the 160-unit College & Crown development at 200 College St., with apartments being leased monthly from $1,580 for junior one-bedrooms to $5,000 for penthouse units. The apartments are 20 percent leased. The mixed-use building also contains 20,000 square feet of retail space, where the Yale-themed clothing store J. Press has moved in.
Bob Landino, CEO of Centerplan Development, which constructed the project, said the building “creates connectivity” between Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale’s downtown campus, the city’s arts district and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, which is moving its headquarters to the new 100 College St. tower.
Mayor Toni Harp called the building’s future tenants “fortunate” to get to live in “one of the city’s most prized centers of life,” near to the city’s most frequented restaurants and clubs, as well as theaters and music venues.
“For two years, the collective imagination was wondering what this space would look like,” she said.
After a subsequent tour of the building, Harp no longer had to imagine. She visited the “clubhouse,” a common room with a library, bar, kitchen, pool table and access to an outdoor courtyard still being constructed. A second outdoor space, also still in the works, will provide space for people to walk their dogs. The fitness center on the same floor as the clubhouse contains a small yoga studio.
Each of the apartments — one-bedroom, two-bedroom, penthouse and lofts — is fitted with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors.
The building is also the first in the region to offer tenants access to fiber-optic broadband, with faster WiFi and downloads, according to Comcast representative Michael Parker. The technology also comes with support if people have questions about the service.
“It’ll turn you into a binge-watcher even if you’re not one yet,” he said.
At the bottom of the building is a garage 140 parking spaces, for residents and retail customers.
