Markeshia Ricks Photo
Jon Sullivan presents plan to Westillville-West Hills.
A project that would put 124 market-rate senior apartments in the shadow of West Rock is a step closer to happening about 19 years after it was approved the first time.
Jon Sullivan of Turnkey Senior Living LLC stopped by the most recent Westville-West Hills Community Management Team meeting to let neighbors know that the long-stalled project is still in the works and going forward.
Originally given site plan approval in 1999, the project at 1155 Whalley Ave. stalled when the developer Larry Waldorf let his permission to build expire. He brought the project back to the City Plan Commission back in 2013 but couldn’t get it approved because of flooding concerns and regulations that changed in the time that his original approval had expired. The proposed development would be near the West River. After multiple denials (which you can read about here) Waldorf sued the commission. A judge ruled that Waldorf and the commission had to get to the table and work it out.
That 2014 ruling set the stage for another two years of wrangling between the city and Waldorf including an infamous dust-up (that you can read about here). The City Plan Commission — after a consultant it had to hire to deal specifically with the project said “taxpayers had to pay thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of staff time, attorney fees, consultant fees” — approved the project with conditions in April 2016.
Sullivan, a New Haven native who grew up on Colony Road and now lives in Wallingford, said his company has been brought in to re-engage the city as the project finally starts to move forward. He said Turnkey isn’t the developer, though the city said Waldorf has been looking to sell the development for some time.
“Our company specializes in creating opportunities for the development of senior living facilities,” he said. “Our specialized area is here in Connecticut. So we meet with people from a lot of municipalities throughout the state but New Haven is exceptionally vibrant.”
He told neighbors at the meeting, which took place last Wednesday, was the last until meetings resume in September, that New Haven is an ideal location for senior living.
“The dynamics of senior living is changing,” he said. “More and more seniors are looking for rental options. [New Haven] is a very attractive area. And we’re fortunate that we were able to become involved with a project that is already approved.”
Sullivan said the plan for the building is still very much the same: market rate, age-restricted apartments for seniors.
“We want to do this hand and hand with the community,” he said. “We feel that this is something that can be a great thing for the development of that area. Certainly, it will provide jobs, it will provide a tax base, and it will provide sustainable residents with disposable income to spend money in local stores and local businesses.
“I think the most important thing is that it is going to be an attractive addition to the neighborhood,” he added.
Beverly Hills Alder Richard Furlow asked that Sullivan come back when he had more complete renderings for the project, expressing some concern that the building, which will be four stories on at least one side was large for the area.
Steve Fontana, the city’s deputy director of economic development, said in a phone interview that it’s the city’s understanding that Waldorf is still looking to sell the property to someone who wants to develop senior housing. A listing at Houlihan Lawrence shows that the price on the 2.9 acres of land had dropped from $2.1 million to $1.9 million.
Fontana said Waldorf has worked to address most of the 10 conditions that the City Plan Commission placed on the approval of the site plan about two years ago. He also said from the city’s perspective there is an insufficient amount of senior housing in New Haven, and Westville is a particularly attractive location for seniors in that neighborhood and the surrounding areas looking at getting out of the day-to-day grind of homeownership.
The city is eager to see the project happen, he said.