Actor/ producer Michael Jai White pitches plan recently in New Haven (at right); East Haven label (left) eyeing Fair Haven move.
Two visions to revive long-abandoned industrial stretches of Fair Haven clashed, as a potential new brewer and a potential new movie production company sought support of neighbors.
One vision: A new media “creators’ district” where local people can walk to well-paying media jobs and internships at a flagship film production studio that could train and employ hundreds.
A second vision: A craft brewery district drawing beer aficionados and other out-of-New Haven tourists for partying and celebrations.
Are those two economic, job-producing development visions for the long-anticipated revival of River Street ultimately compatible? Can they function together? And what’s the city’s role in navigating that question?
Those questions were engaged Thursday night before a full house, 50 participants at its height, at the Zoom-streamed regular meeting of the Fair Haven Community Management Team (FHCMT). (Watch the full meeting here.)
The visions include two River Street plans that previously met with excitement from neighbors when previewed at the June FHCMT meeting.
The first vision involves the creation of a movie production complex called Jaigantic Studios. Jackie Buster pitched the management for a letter of general support for the plan.
The second, craft-brewery vision has two components. The management team had already heard about, and supported, New England Brewery Company planned 80,000 square-foot brewery, tap room, and event space for a vacant former-industrial lot. At Thursday night’s meeting they heard about a second planned move by a smaller company called Armada Brewing from East Haven to 190 River St. The company has signed a lease with the city for the move, but needs zoning permission.
At Thursday night’s meeting, city economic development officials Steve Fontana and Helen Rosenberg found themselves fielding participants’ skeptical questions about whether the two visions are compatible.
After much debate, the management team ended up split about how to proceed, and ended up delaying votes on whether to support one or both of the visions.
Armada Founder John Kraszweki made the pitch Thursday night for a letter of support for the Amanda Brewing relocation.
Rosenberg said that after years of work to keep the bricks and mortar of the anchoring Bigelow building complex at 190 River St. together and to attract tenants, the city finally signed a lease with Armada for a restored building at 190 River St., at Lloyd, behind the pile of bricks.
Kraszewski is all set to go before the City Plan Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals to seek a special exception to allow for beer-making on the property. Kraszewski was asking for a community letter of support to bolster the upcoming BZA appearance to approve the 3,000 square-foot building to contain brewery and tap room that will employ 15 people.
By comparison to the New England Brewery’s 8.5 acre proposal, Armada’s is tiny.
Yet it was enough to set off the incompatibility bomb.
That happened when in Jaigantic’s presentation, when Buster called both the larger New England Brewery plan, which is in process, and the smaller Armada Brewing “a potential land mine.”
She cited her company’s vision for 46/56 River St.t and the 112 Chapel St. site — a “creators’ district” —- with, eventually, an outdoor movie theater, a back lot where filming (requiring silence) takes place, a first-run movie theater, and sufficient parking as one that could not live comfortably with brewery businesses.
“We need to have contiguous space, secure space to create this destination,” she said.
She also said that they have heard anecdotally that local churches are having serious qualms about breweries being plunked in the heart of the River Street district.
“There’s an undercurrent from schools and churches,” she reported, “with issues of not one brewery but two and placed right amid our studios, means we likely can’t function at all.”
Dave Cruz-Bustamante raised an initial objection regarding rents potentially going up from these jazzy businesses’ arrival, driving out local residents through rising e rents.
FHCMT Co-Chair Lee Cruz also pressed Kraszweki on whether that his brewery will provide jobs with a living wage. Kraszweki answered that the lowest paid of the 15 employees would be making $35,000.
Longtime resident Mark Firla honed in on Jaigantic’s throwing the gauntlet down by in effect saying they will not live with a brewery.
“It’s kind of a weird set up, a multi-million dollar set-up wants to come in and a small one, Armada, and can’t we find a way to work through this,” Firla said. “It’s not fair to judge one organization against another. I was troubled to hear in the Jaigantic presentation some opposition to other groups coming in, particularly breweries.”
“We don’t oppose other businesses,” replied Buster. “If there were a way for Armada and us to work together so we don’t have a problem with the noise and the traffic ... Could we make Armada an official beer of the studio? Or place it within the studio? We’d love to be able to talk to John. We don’t want anyone to think it’s Armada or us. Rather how we can make this work so we and they can coexist.”
The City’s Role
After congenial yet serious backing and forthing, FHCMT Co-Chair Diane Ecton asked Fontana and Rosenberg for the city’s take.
“Helen has been working for years cleaning up industrial properties,” Fontana answered. “We do our best to attract Jaigantic, New England Brewing, Armada, to formulate their proposals to reflect community values and we’re pleased to bring them to you. There are communities that would kill to have a Jaigantic Studios or a new New England Brewing.
“There are lots of issues, design, environmental, and we’re working through all of them in a dynamic situation. We’re trying to reconcile and resolve all these opportunities,” he said, pointing out that a key, if not the main, driver of the city’s role is the creation of jobs, although the other concerns raised, such as affordable housing, must also be balanced, he said.
“We need the city,” Ward 14 alder candidate Sarah Miller said after Fontana’s remarks,“to be an active partner in how they can be successful together. One may be incompatible with the other.”
CMT’s Weight
The question before the FHCMT was: Should letters of support be provided this evening, as requested, given the unsettled questions raised?
Co-Chair Ecton said she saw no problem with the expression of support now, letting details be worked out in further appearances by the parties before city plan commission and board of zoning appeals.
Miller disagreed: “We’re being asked to write a letter to the BZA in support of Armada. That may mean Jaigantic can’t move in, so it seems there’s work to do on the plan before we can support either one.”
“I don’t understand how voting for one negates the other,” said FHCMT Treasurer Darlene Casella.
Ecton: “The bottom line is that the city is going to go ahead and do it, and our support letters don’t have that big a weight.”
Miller: “My understanding is at zoning. it’s quite big.”
Firla: “Votes of support do get ‘used.’ They appear to carry significant amount of weight, and I’d be hesitant to put us in the position of picking a winner or at least to give the appearance of that.”
“You can make a motion to postpone the vote,” said FHCMT Recording Secretary Dave Weinreb.
“I know Armada is ready to go,” said Co-Chair Cruz, “but a letter is a strong signal. Jaigantic is asking for a general letter of support. Armada is asking specifically for their approach to BZA, and that’s taken very seriously.”
He therefore called the two requests for support letters very different, “apples and oranges.”
“We can get some greater clarity from [the city] economic development at another meeting.”
A show of hands vote was taken via the Zoom, and the majority voted to delay the vote.