KSQ Architects
Initial rendering of the building
Four months after postponing a crucial hearing, Yale renewed its appeal to the zoning board for a new six-story building on a parking lot in the Broadway district.
This time, zoning staff said: Maybe. But ditch one floor of retail.
This interaction took place at Tuesday night’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meeting at 200 Orange St., where Yale asked again for permission to build a 51,777 square-foot, 73-foot-tall building with two floors of retail and four floors of graduate housing at 272 Elm St.
The board did not vote on the matter but did refer it to the City Plan Commission. It plans to vote next month.
Yale is asking for two variances, one to allow the rear yard to run 16.4 feet at its narrowest point rather than the required 24.34 feet, and another to allow a total floor to area ratio (FAR) of 2.984 where a maximum of 2.0 is allowed.
It is also asking for a special exception for parking, to allow zero spaces on a lot that would require a total of 145 spaces — including 101 for the two proposed retail floors, 44 for three existing retail operations in adjacent buildings it owns. Proponents of “new urbanism” applaud the plan’s filling in a surface lot with apartments and stores; some critics question the scale and design as well as Yale’s claim that it has a “burden” meriting a zoning exception.
Paul Bass Photo
The lot.
City Plan staffer Tom Talbot wrote a surprising staff report in February recommending the zoning board deny Yale’s request, unless the university could present more evidence to show it needed zoning relief. He recommended Yale try to change the city’s zoning ordinance rather than ask for the special exception and variances.
Yale attorney Joseph Hammer at the time asked the board to postpone the public hearing one month so he could address staff’s concerns.
Yale returned with a request that was virtually unchanged — asking for the exact same variances and special exception. But it returned with more data, consulting with a company to undertake a parking study, said Lauren Zucker, Yale’s director of New Haven affairs. “The weather didn’t cooperate,” which forced Yale to postpone the study even further. “We did it in April … We wanted to be responsive,” Zucker told the Independent.
But Talbot said he was worried more about the second-floor of retail than the parking.
“The second-floor retail use seems to drive most of the variance,” not the graduate housing, Talbot told the Independent just before Tuesday’s meeting. “In the absence of them being able to demonstrate that they need the second-floor retail to make the project work,” the board should vote no on the variance, he said.
Aliyya Swaby Photo
Architect Steve Brown, Hammer and Zucker
At Tuesday’s zoning meeting, Zucker and Hammer argued that Yale needs two floors of retail, not one.
“Given the unique location and character of the site, a building with only graduate housing is not in the best interest of the city,” Zucker said, calling retail the “missing link” on the street. There is currently “limited availability” for retail space in the Broadway district, she said.
Hammer said two floors of retail are not inconsistent with but rather complementary to the area. “We respectfully request the FAR be approved without the condition of one floor of retail,” he said. He said the parking study showed the project would not drastically change the amount of available parking in the city, especially since graduate students often do not own cars.
That part convinced zoning staff. The new staff report recommends approval of the special exception for parking: “sufficient information has been submitted as part of the application concerning the impact of the combination of increased parking demand along with a reduced supply to recommend approval.”
Architect Steve Brown presented a rendering of the building to the board, which includes plans to “set back” the top floor “to make the building appear shorter.” The brick chosen for the facade matches neighboring buildings.
Three people spoke up on behalf of Yale Tuesday. None spoke against.
The city’s “parking administration” is “supportive” of the application, said Matthew Nemerson, the city’s economic development director. “Two floors of retail” along with graduate housing “will bring additional energy” to Broadway and is consistent with the comprehensive zoning plan, he said.
Elizabeth Mo, a third-year graduate student, spoke on behalf of graduate students in favor of the project.
And Winfield Davis, who heads the Town Green Special Services District, agreed with Zucker’s comment that the two floors of retail were necessary. “Several retailers have asked us for retail space of this size and we have nothing to offer,” he said.
Yale also submitted a thick packet of letters in favor of the project, including those from three of the area’s alders, Frank Douglass, Sarah Eidelson and Jeanette Morisson.
City Plan Commission will discuss the matter June 17 at 6 p.m. in City Hall.