Yale Demolishes York Townhouse

Yale has knocked down a historic, dilapidated three-story downtown building that used to be home to the York Street Noodle House.

An excavator and empty land are now all that’s left standing on the fenced-in, 0.06-acre lot at 166 York St. 

That property used to hold a townhouse-style residential and commercial structure that was built around 1890 and was listed as a contributing property in the Chapel Street Commercial National Register Historic District.

After first requesting a demolition permit from the city’s Building Department last October and then waiting out the city-mandated 90-day delay for knocking down historic structures, Yale pulled a demolition permit for 166 York on April 18.

A university spokesperson told the Independent that Yale razed the building at 166 York on April 30, and removed a majority of the debris from the site by May 6.

Yale wound up demolishing 166 York in large part because of significant structural problems with the building’s roof. ​“Although Yale invested significant funds in an effort to stabilize the structure and upgrade the infrastructure, based on recent reports from architects and engineering consultants, the building is not safe to occupy,” the university’s spokesperson told the Independent last December.

The university purchased 166 York back in 2019 as part of a two-property, $3.8 million deal with the local real estate giant Pike International.

In February 2020, Yale demolished the other property acquired in that deal — the former pawn ship building at 1142 Chapel — because of the building’s dangerously poor condition. Then, last fall, Yale let the city know it planned on demolishing 166 York as well, despite opposition from city officials and local preservationists. 

A Yale spokesperson told the Independent last December that the university would be ​“studying conceptual options to repurpose the site” and that, in the interim, ​“it is contemplated that it will serve as an outdoor amenity.” The university spokesperson did not respond to requests for an updated comment on how this property will be used.