Nora Grace-Flood photo
The abandoned middle school at 560 Newhall St.
Hamden’s Legislative Council voted on Monday to extend a contract with a nonprofit affordable housing developer until Jan. 18 — in order to take more time to decide whether to go through with builder’s proposal for a long blighted property at 560 Newhall St.
Hamden residents will now have to wait an additional three months to find out the fate of the site, which is the location of the town’s abandoned middle school. And they will also have more opportunities to share their own opinion as to how the property should be used.
Economic Development Director Erik Johnson addresses the Legislative Council Monday night.
The council was expected to make a more final decision Tuesday night about the town’s relationship with the nonprofit developer, NeighborWorks New Horizons. The council was to vote whether or not to finalize the sale of the property to NeighborWorks. Read more about the town’s complicated history with NeighborWorks here and about the developer’s site plan here, which includes building 87 apartments, 80 percent of which will be affordable, as well as constructing a community center.
On Monday night, the council instead agreed to extend the contract for the temporary three-month period, hold at least one community meeting within to establish exactly what the members of the affected neighborhood want from the long-awaited project, and reconvene for another vote on Jan. 18.
The council did vote to approve a series of land use restrictions for the site, the final outcome of a 20 year soil remediation process. Read more about that here and here.
It took two hours to come to those two votes.
Justin Farmer, the council member who represents District Five, which includes Newhall Street, served once again as the most vocal opposition to the plan. He maintained that community input has not been reflected in the plans for the site and that building affordable housing in the area will mean further impoverishing the southern section of town.
He said that adding 70 affordable housing units to the property would require additional investments in the area, like a more substantial budget for the Keefe Community Center, increased public transportation, and food security initiatives. If the council does not make plans to support southern Hamden before bringing the development to town, he stated, “We, the Legislative Council, are setting it [the neighborhood] up to fail.”
Farmer addressed Tom Cruess, the CEO of NeighborWorks, asserting that the general well-being of the town is “less of a concern to you as a developer.”
“It is a concern for us,” Cruess countered. “We are not just a developer; we’re a nonprofit housing provider. We’re a mission-based organization. This isn’t just a financial transaction to us.”
He said that NeighborWorks would be “more than willing and want to work directly with you to determine whatever services our residents in the community would need.”
“I appreciate that, but y’all are in the business of development. If this development does not work, you’re going to take us to court to recoup your costs,” he said, referring to the fact that NeighborWorks has already spent about $500,000 on producing architectural and engineering plans. Cruess said that NeighborWorks would “absolutely” seek to retrieve that money from the town should the town terminate the contract after six years.
NeighborWork’s original site plan for 560 Newhall, which changed minimally after the remediation was completed.
A map of the now approved land use restrictions placed on the site.
In a community meeting hosted by Acting Town Planner and Economic Development Director Erik Johnson on Oct. 5, around 50 residents, most of whom were people of color, showed up to blast the proposed plan. They said they worry that an affordable housing development would decrease their property values while worsening flooding conditions and increasing traffic.
During Monday’s Council meeting, Johnson and representatives of NeighborWorks disagreed with those hypotheticals. Johnson said that, if anything, developing a blighted property would increase the value of surrounding homes. Plus, he said, investing in an affordable housing project would demonstrate the town’s values and potentially attract new families to Hamden.
NeighborWorks Director of Real Estate Development Aaron Hoffman said that the site plan always “always included” a retention pond, which would channel rainwater from storms away from the town’s sewer system. Town Engineer Mark Austin said that his department is also separately working on water drainage models and a road safety assessment, projects which have been put off due to lacking funds. “We have to evaluate it, assess it, and move forward,” Austin said on Monday. “That’s why I’ve been asking for study money.”
Councilwoman Valerie Horsley spoke in support of the project. She synthesized Johnson’s, Austin’s, and Hoffman’s points, arguing that the project meets the exact needs expressed by community members. The development would include a drainage system that could interrupt ongoing flooding of residents’ properties. The new project could also draw attention to existing traffic concerns and lead to infrastructural changes. It could have a positive impact on people’s property values and finally make something of “one of the worst sites in town.” Plus, she said, the town would get to work with “someone who’s a nonprofit, not a developer, and that actually thinks about our community.”
“To ‘push something through’ even though the current residents are not ready … it’s a little bit heartbreaking that we don’t want to consider what’s going on there,” Councilwoman Dominique Baez responded.
She pointed out that the site and residential properties surrounding it are built on contaminated soil, and suggested that the hazardous environment has caused serious health issues for those who have long lived in the neighborhood. “I think we should have a little more sensitivity than ‘push it through’,” she said.
“I’m torn,” Councilwoman Marjorie Bonadies said. “I don’t want to foist anything upon this community. I want to respect their wishes … but I just had to say this is a really complex property.” She inquired as to whether Johnson had considered any other uses for the site, such as light manufacturing or a field house.
“The town has been under contract since 2017,” Johnson said. He stated that he hasn’t “explored alternatives formally” because the town has been “working in good faith” to move the agreement with NeighborWorks “in one way or another.”
“To do otherwise would’ve been a violation of our obligations,” he said.
Baez insisted that before moving forward, the town should clearly explain the term sheet to the impacted residents, properly weigh their thoughts and continue to negotiate elements of the agreement. “We owe this to them as a group because they’re historically disenfranchised,” she said.
The town has yet to schedule a date for another community meeting. When the topic is next taken up by the council on Jan. 18, a new group of legislators will be in office.