Pennrose rendering
Pennrose's design for 58 new Strong School apartments.
The Elicker Administration has selected the national affordable housing developer Pennrose to convert the vacant former Strong School on Grand Avenue into 58 new affordable apartments, an artists’ community, and a public gathering space.
That’s according to an email press release sent out on Wednesday afternoon by city spokesperson Lenny Speiller. Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller also sent out an email blast on Wednesday that confirmed and heralded the redevelopment move.
According to Speiller’s and Miller’s emails, at the recommendation of a seven-person selection committee composed of city employees and Fair Haven community leaders, the city has picked Pennrose as the “preferred developer” for the historic former school building at 69 Grand Ave.
“Pennrose proposes an adaptive renovation of the historic school building that will provide 58 affordable housing units as well as community arts and culture space including live/work spaces for local artists. An LGBTQ-friendly environment is a key aspect of the project vision as well,” Speiller wrote.
“The partnership with Pennrose is a breakthrough for our community that will make Fair Haven an even better place to live, work, and visit,” added Miller. “The building will incorporate community arts and culture space; live/work spaces for local artists; and studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments that are 100% affordable and LGBTQ-friendly (you can read more about the proposal here). In addition to Pennrose, the development team includes: The Cloud Company, a 100% minority-owned, CT-based real-estate development firm; WRT Planning and Design; and historic consultant PAL Inc. Following construction, the property will be managed by the Pennrose Management Company.”
Thomas Breen file photo
Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller.
Wednesday’s announcement comes a month and a half after a Fair Haven community meeting at which representatives from Pennrose and the Glendower Group, which is the nonprofit development arm of the New Haven Housing Authority, made their respective pitches for how they’d like to transform the long-vacant former school building.
In explaining why the selection committee went with Pennrose over Glendower, Miller wrote on Wednesday: “Our Selection Committee was in the positive but difficult position of receiving two extremely strong proposals, from Pennrose and the Glendower Group. Both proposals fulfill community values of artistic and cultural enrichment, accessibility, and inclusion. Both proposals are creative and compelling. Both organizations have excellent track records. For all these reasons, the selection was a difficult decision. A significant factor in Pennrose’s selection is its expertise in the complexities of historic school restoration. Pennrose recently redeveloped the historic Mary D. Stone School in Auburn, MA into mixed-income senior housing, which was awarded the 2022 Affordable Housing Finance Magazine Reader’s Choice Award. Pennrose is also completing redevelopment of the historic William Barton Rogers Middle School in Boston, MA, which will be New England’s first LGBTQ-friendly senior affordable housing development. Pennrose is ranked among the top 25 affordable housing developers nationally and has completed similar projects in Hartford, Torrington, and Meriden.”
Speiller wrote in his email that the Pennrose redevelopment project should cost around $25 million to build, and should be complete by 2025. He wrote that 48 of the new apartments will be reserved for renters making between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). The remaining 10 apartments will be reserved for those making up to 80 percent AMI.
What comes next?
“The City of New Haven anticipates a three-year planning and construction timeline while continuing to work closely with community partners as the project moves forward,” Speiller wrote. “As part of the process, a definitive development agreement will be negotiated and submitted to the Board of Alders for review and approval. Quarterly status updates will also be provided to the community via the regular meetings of the Fair Haven Community Management Team, beginning on Thursday November 3 at 6 p.m. at the Fair Haven Public Library Branch and on Zoom. Additional details can be found at fhcmt.org.”
Pennrose and Glendower each responded to a request for proposals (RFP) from the city, which was developed based on input from Fair Haven neighbors, as collected through surveys and public meeting by the planning firm Interboro Partners. Fair Haveners had voiced preferences for arts and culture spaces, programming for kids and young people, restaurants, and communal gathering spaces.
The historic three-story building was constructed in 1916 and has been vacant since 2010. Previous attempts to revive the building imploded as the city, and at one point Fair Haven community members, rejected developers’ proposals. Wednesday’s announcements by Speiller and Miller mark the closest the city and the neighborhood have yet come in recent years to reviving the building.