More Apartments On The Way

The City Plan Commission advanced plans that will bring more than 200 apartments to New Haven in the next three years and put a rental car and truck facility in Wooster Square.

The City Plan Commission put those projects into motion during its last meeting of the year at City Hall Wednesday night. Over the course of four hours, commissioners approved the following:

• The Mid Block Development of a proposed mixed-use building that will feature 120 new apartments at 842 and 848 Chapel St. The new six-story complex will go up on a lot owned by Northside Development Company Founder and President Paul Denz. It was the former home to the historic Kresge Department store which has been used as a parking lot since a fire destroyed the building shortly after Denz bought it in 2007. The complex will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments. (Read more about that here.)

Denz told commissioners that the project will be transformational for that part of downtown and he expects to attract better retail options, noting that Foot Locker’s lease is up at the end of the year and does not plan to renew. He told Downtown neighbors the night before that he expects Family Dollar to also pull up stakes in 12 months. He has plans to develop another 50 to 60 apartments from the Foot Locker location (which he also owns) all the way to the corner of Orange and Chapel in a second phase of development for Northside.

He noted that the apartments he’s developing will be on the smaller side to make them a bit more affordable to the person who wants to live downtown without the frills of amenities like an on-site gym. Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and be completed by 2021.

“It’s for the person who considers being downtown the amenity,” he said.

• A block east and around the corner on State Street, a plan for 60 more apartments. That project calls for transforming another parking lot into a six-story apartment building with apartments that range in size from studio to four-bedroom apartments.

Architect John LaFrenier said the apartments will be built using modular construction. The building will have its own 14-space parking garage as well as five additional uncovered spaces. It also is of course in striking distance of the State Street train station.

The first floor also will be home to an amenity space and retail space. Like the Mid Block project, 294 – 302 State St. is aiming for Downtown renters who don’t need subsidized housing but also aren’t in the market for luxury apartments.

Commissioner Jonathan Wharton called the project a prime example of transit-oriented development.

“This is what I teach in class,” said the Southern Connecticut State University political science professor.

Construction for this project is expected to begin in the late spring of 2019 and conclude in the early summer of 2020.

• The long-awaited transformation of Antillean Manor in the Dwight section, as a planned development unit with the reconstruction of 31 new affordable housing units on Day Street. The four-story building will replace existing structures providing a much-needed upgrade for residents who will have to relocate during the demolition and reconstruction of the apartments. 

Carabetta, the Meriden-based real estate company currently managing the premises, entered into a purchasing agreement to acquire the property with the Antillean Co-op members earlier this year. Helen Muniz, development officer for Carbetta, told commissioners that it was not successful in the most recent round of Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties 12 (CHAMP 12) awards but has already reapplied for the next round. It can’t acquire Antillean Manor until it secures that funding.

But she assured commissioners that there was a plan for relocation of the families and they all have the right to return. Many have indicated that they will return she said. Construction is expected to begin March 2019 and wrap up March 2020.

Avis Coming to Wooster Sq.

After many community meetings and 11 site plans, an Avis/Budget rental car operation is set to come to 170 Olive St. And neighbors still don’t want it.

Wooster Square Alder Aaron Greenberg had asked the commission for a public hearing of the matter given the ongoing objections to the business coming to a long-vacant one-story building that used to be home to a gas station and car repair facility.

But attorney Carolyn Kone argued that the neighborhood-level desire for a different use does not overcome the fact that the use is permitted as of right.

“There has been so much public input,” she said. ​“And we’ve tried so hard to address these concerns.”

Westville Alder Adam Marchand, who also serves as a City Plan commissioner, said that when a colleague asks for a public hearing he is inclined to honor such requests. He made a motion to have a public hearing but it failed in a 3 – 2 vote.

Ultimately, commissioners approved the site plan with the conditions that trucks are prohibited from backing over the sidewalk and employees are required to handle the backing up of trucks.