Neuro Plan Approved; Construction Delayed

(Updated) The City Plan Commission unanimously signed off on Yale New Haven Hospital’s plans to build a new neuroscience medical research and treatment center on an expanded St. Raphael’s hospital campus, that will have a total of nearly 2,500 on-site parking spaces by the time construction is complete.

When that might be? Well, no one knows for sure, as the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown out the window the hospital’s previous construction timeline.

Commissioners took that vote Wednesday night during the commission’s regular monthly meeting.

As City Hall remains indefinitely closed to the public during the current public health state of emergency around the novel coronavirus outbreak, the two-and-a-half-hour City Plan Commission meeting took place virtually via the Zoom teleconferencing app.

The vote came in regards to what City Plan Commission Chair Ed Mattison said is the largest building project he’s ever reviewed and had to vote on in his decade leading the city’s land use and zoning compliance commission: YNHH’s planned $838 million construction of a new neuroscience medical research and treatment center, consisting of two connected eight-story and seven-story buildings to be built at the corner of Sherman Avenue and George Street.

The project also includes the expansion of YNHH’s St. Raphael Hospital campus’s existing Emergency Department on Orchard Street, the construction of a new 198-space underground garage, and the replacement of the existing Orchard Street Garage with two new seven-story parking garages on the block.

“This, I believe, is the largest project that we’ve had in this time,” said Mattison (pictured).

See below for more details on the project, as described in YNHH’s site plan application.

Just as the hospital did during its last appearance before the City Plan Commission on this project, when YNHH was applying for an amendment to the underlying Planned Development District (PDD) zoning regulations for the St. Raphael’s campus, the project’s lawyer, designer, landscape architect, civil engineer, and traffic engineer all gave detailed presentations on how the campus bounded by Chapel Street, Orchard Street, George Street, and Sherman Avenue is slated to be transformed by this project.

Architect Andre Kamili described a main neuroscience building designed to recall that of YNHH’s Smilow Cancer Center.

Landscape Architect Bryan Jarem described a surfeit of red maples, oaks, birches, and elm trees along with other native flowers and plants that will ​“create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for patients, visitors and staff.”

Engineer Charles Croce described a new stormwater management plan that separates stormwater from the combined sewer system, which attorney John Knuff described as having ​“huge environmental benefits.”

Traffic Engineer Chris Granatini described a suite of new traffic signals and pedestrian improvements in the immediate vicinity and extending several blocks to the west of the hospital campus, as well as the elimination of the emergency department driveway on Orchard Street and relocation of that entrance to Chapel Street so as to reduce traffic on Orchard.

“What is the general timeline on completion of the garages and the Sherman Avenue buildings?” asked Commission Vice-Chair Leslie Radcliffe (pictured).

Well, YNHH Vice President Facilities Design Stephen Carbery said, that’s difficult to say. ​“All of the Covid activities have put our project on hold,” he said.

That’s because the state and federal governments have issued a directive to ​“halt all hospital construction” during the pandemic.

“We’ve had to halt all the enable project,” said Carbery (pictured).

He said that, before the pandemic, the hospital had planned on pulling building permits as early as Summer 2020, and beginning construction on the Orchard Street garages as early as Spring 2021.

Now, that timeline is on pause.

“Right now I couldn’t give you a specific date. We’d like to get them built as quickly as possible.”

Neuroscience Center Details Published

(Updated) Yale New Haven Hospital’s planned new neuroscience center construction project will include a new eight-story building on Sherman Avenue, a new seven-story building above the current McGivney Surgery Center on George Street, and a total of approximately 2,458 on-site parking spaces located on the expanded St. Raphael’s hospital campus.

Those details are included in a recently finalized site plan application that YNHH attorneys, engineers, architects, and top hospital officials have submitted to the City Plan Commission.

The commission will be reviewing and voting on the site plan during its regular monthly meeting Wednesday night at 6 p.m., which will be held online via Zoom as City Hall remains indefinitely closed to the public during the current Covid-19 state of emergency.

Click here to read the hospital’s planned City Plan Commission site plan presentation, and here to read the site plan application itself.

Update: Commissioners unanimously approved the neuroscience center project site plan Wednesday night. Check out this article Thursday morning for more updates.

The detailed site plan submission represents the latest step in the regional health care system’s plans to invest $838 million in the construction of a planned new neuroscience medical research and treatment center, consisting of two connected eight-story and seven-story buildings to be built at the corner of Sherman Avenue and George Street.

The site plan application also provides new details on the planned expansion of St. Raphael Hospital campus’s existing Emergency Department on Orchard Street, the construction of a new 198-space underground garage, and the replacement of the existing Orchard Street Garage with two new seven-story parking garages on the block.

The site plan project narrative states that the development will result in a total of approximately 2,458 parking spaces on the expanded Saint Raphael’s campus.

That number comes from parking plan requirements included in a revised Planned Development District (PDD) set of regulations approved by the Board of Alders earlier this year.

The site plan application states that the hospital will provide one parking space per every four patient beds, with a total of 660 beds (165 spaces); one space per doctor, with a total of 450 doctors (450); one space per three peak shift employees at 2,800 employees (934); two spaces per outpatient doctor (250); one space per six beds at the Grimes Center, with a total of 80 beds (14); one space per doctor at the Grimes Center, with a total of 30 octors (30), one space per four peak shift employees at 200 employees at the Grimes Center (50); and an additional 565 excess parking spaces per the updated Medical Area Overall Parking Plan (MAOPP), which alders also signed off on in January.

The proposed neuroscience center building’s exterior will match that of the Smilow Cancer Hospital, which consists of ​“beige colored terracotta and glass curtainwall aesthetics.”

It will also include a 7,800 square foot ​“serene roof garden” open to patients and staff that will be built on the fourth floor of the neuroscience center. ​“The proposed curvilinear design includes an accessible, looping path and provides a variety of experiences as patients move through the space.”

The Orchard Street Garage expansion, meanwhile, ​“will carry a similar color palette in precast panel and decorative metal screen panel.” The pedestrian level of the building will feature a ​“precast knee wall with planters and green wall metal screen panel. The facade on Chapel Street and George Street will have metal screen panels to create more interest and visually scale down the typical parking garage horizontal precast band.”

Neighbors have consistently raised concerns over the past year about the potential impact of the planned new parking garages on the air quality, traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, and architectural aesthetics of the neighborhood.

The site plan says that YNHH will build out new sidewalks and other streetscape improvements along Sherman Avenue, George Street, Chapel Street, and Orchard Street as part of this project. The hospital also plans to install exterior lighting on George Street for the main entrance, drop-off areas, and underground garage.

“To minimize light spillover unto adjacent neighbors, the exterior lighting system is comprised of a combination of cut-off Post-top luminaries, bollards, surface mounted cut-off wall sconces and shielded step lights.”

The hospital will also replace ​“existing, aging traffic signal equipment, incorporate traffic signal timing optimization through development of an adaptive traffic control signal design, and incorporate signal and ADA accommodation improvements” at the intersections of Chapel and Sherman, Chapel and Orchard, George and Sherman, and George and Orchard.

And it will ​“upgrade the following intersections with Synchro Green adaptive traffic signal operations software”: MLK Boulevard and Orchard, MLK and Dwight Street, MLK and Howe Street, Legion Avenue and Orchard, Legion and Dwight, Legion and Howe, MLK and Park Street, MLK and York Street, Legion and Park, and Legion and York.