Cover of the Frews' presentation.
Robert and Susan Frew said they know what amount of living space graduate students in New Haven crave: just about 400 square feet.
That is — as long as the little apartments also contain a washer/dryer, microwave, refrigerator (and little kitchenette, of course) and central air.
The Frews offered that market insight during a discussion about their plans to build such apartments. They held the discussion Monday night with two dozen members of the East Rock Community Management Team (CMT) at its Zoom-assisted regular monthly gathering.
The Frews, who have been developing apartments solely in East Rock for 40 years, were on hand to seek the blessing of the group for their latest project: Renovating the interior of 780 State St., at the corner of Eld; and erecting next to it, on a current adjacent small parking lot, a modern sister structure both to support the 1900s-era pile of bricks and to create in total 26 apartments. The apartments in the two structures would be targeted to single and married graduate students.
By a rapid vote online organized by CMT Chair Elena Grewal, the Frews received that blessing, with ten votes in favor, seven abstentions, and none opposed.
The vote of support, to be memorialized in a letter, will be useful, Frew said, in an upcoming city approval process beginning with the Board of Zoning Appeals, where he expects to seek parking and setback relief.
Click here to view the presentation of the Frews’ architectural plans.
Frew, a Scotsman who came to New Haven in 1969 and taught at the Yale School of Architecture for 30 years, said he hasn’t developed anywhere outside of East Rock and Goatville and Upper State. As a young teacher of architecture he was drawn to “the European character” of State Street and the surrounding neighborhood.
“I fell in love with State Street, and I still live not far from it. Most of the buildings then were vacant when I started. They had stores on the ground floor and nothing above, and most with the stores wanted to get out, so it wasn’t difficult to buy buildings.”
He and his little company today manage 70 units in the area. Approximately 80 percent of the renters are graduate students, mostly at Yale.
“We found if you make very small apartments that have everything in them, washer and dryer, refrigerator, central air, that’s all a student needs. They don’t need a big apartment. They just want to go to school, take classes,” said Susan Frew, Robert’s wife and business partner, and a real estate agent.
“We found the small units are very popular because they are cheaper,” she added.
Of the 26 future apartments, nine would be 400 square-foot studios. The balance would be one-bedrooms plus a two-level penthouse in the new building with a view of Long Island Sound.
And the rents? Meeting attendees were curious.
As the market seems to be going up and up, said Susan Frew, it is hard to know for certain, but she estimated the studios will rent for between $1,500 and $1,700 a month and the one-bedrooms for more. That view of Long Island Sound will cost a well-to-do graduate student $4K, she estimated.
Robert Frew said the new building will be steel-framed structural steel and set back five or so feet, with plantings in front. ((the old building has been worked on and is solid, but, he said, you never know.) Each building will have commercial space in front and bike storage space in back on the ground level, with apartments rising six stories.
“I’m fine with the proposal,” said Kevin McCarthy, a zoning maven and a friend of the Frews, “but I believe the [new] inclusionary zoning ordinance does apply, so there will have to be an affordable unit in both the old and new building.”
“We haven’t read the act yet, but we will comply with whatever is the law,” said Frew in an interview after the meeting. He said he recently retained local zoning attorney Ben Trachten to begin the formal process with the city. Frew expects planning to take place in the summer and construction to be finished some time in 2023.