By George, Look At That Block Now

Downtown’s fastest-changing block continued its transformation, as site plans for market-rate apartments and an extended-stay hotel got the city’s go-ahead.

At a Wednesday night meeting, the City Plan Commission approved the plans for the five-building ​“Metro 301” at 301 – 305 George St. and 274 Crown St, as well as for the neighboring short-term rental extended-day hotel and retail development at 323 George St. and 9 and 15 High St. (Read previous stories about those projects here and here.) (Developer Bob Landino has already opened a 160-unit luxury apartment complex at the other end of the block.)

Developer Bob Smith of Metro Star Property Management is putting up a 37,750 square-foot development on .86 acres, spanning Crown to George Streets between College and High Streets. He plans to knock down a single-story retail building at 274 Crown St., a warehouse building and a rehab center on George, and then put up four buildings, including three connected ​“mews” buildings along a walkway on Crown. He’s doing so on property that used to house a squatters’ lair where police discovered a dismembered torso in July.

The development company will also renovate a chapel building according to state standards, after collaborating with the New Haven Preservation Trust, said architect Sam Gardner, of GWG Architects. City Plan staff asked the developers to take out plans for ​“uplights” highlighting some of the site’s features, but let them keep the ​“monument lighting” highlighting the chapel.

“There’s a fair amount of ambient light already,” he said. The ​“mews” or alleyway between the buildings between Crown and George will also be well lit, he said.

Electronic gates will provide entry and exit on George and Crown.

People will be able to walk through the mews on the George Street side during the day until it is locked at night. ​“The gate is open during the day. It will lock at around 10 p.m.,” Smith said. The Crown Street gate will be locked all day.

Commissioner Adam Marchand expressed worry about someone heading into the development during the day, staying hidden overnight and breaking into someone’s home at 3 a.m.

Smith said the neighborhood would likely change to be more active and busy with around 300 people moving in. He said he would make any necessary changes as the project went on.

A parking lot with a below-ground parking garage will provide parking spots for the entire development, with the garage accessed from 297 George St., said architect David Golebiewski, of TPA Design Group.

Corner Goes MOD

Just down the street at 323 George St, brothers Josef and Jacob Feldman of MOD Equities are building 108 furnished studios in an extended-stay hotel they hope will feel like ​“home” for those without one in New Haven. The hotel, said lawyer Matt Panelli, will ​“complete the block” of George Street, replacing a budget car rental company.

The Feldman brothers also plan to preserve and renovate a historic home at 15 High St. for additional guest rooms.

The ​“concierge activity zone” will share the first floor with a coffee shop, said architect Jay Brotman. The development has about 2,000 square feet of retail space, big enough for one restaurant or two smaller tenants, he said.

“It’s a different style of housing,” he said. The developer seeks tenants who need a comfortable place to stay short-term, including students who are at Yale for only a few months and don’t want to invest in furniture. Floors two through six include different types of common spaces where tenants can leave their studios and be in the company of others.

Within each 400 square-foot studio, a tenant will have his or her own kitchen, washer/dryer unit, bed, hot water heater, and air conditioner, among other amenities, said Brotman (at right in photo).

Since it is zoned similarly to a hotel, it does not need parking, the way a residential development would. A 15-space lot on-site would provide parking either for retail or tenants. ​“Most tenants that come won’t be coming with cars. They would go to parking garages in the neighborhood,” Brotman said.

Panelli said the developers are considering getting a Zipcar service to run out of the parking lot, to service the tenants.

The neighboring developers have talked about how to move their structures forward in a mutually beneficial way.

At Smith’s request, Feldman agreed to move the top floor of the hotel back 10 feet in order to allow light to permeate through to his development, Feldman said. ​“We have a good working relationship,” he said. Eventually, he said, tenants could stay a few months in his hotel until they got settled and then lease an apartment in Smith’s development.

Both projects are required to be reviewed by the traffic department — so applicants can discuss putting pedestrian-safe infrastructure such as rectangular rapid-flashing beacons and crosswalks on George.