New Haven Independent

At a meeting at the Conte/ West Hills magnet school Tuesday night, city school construction program chief Susan Weisselberg (at left in photo), Ward 8 Alderman Michael Smart and several representatives from the S.L.A.M. Collaborative — the company tapped to build the new school — presented the proposal to an audience of about 30.

The Metropolitan Business Academy is a magnet high school that prepares its students for business careers by providing them with entrepreneurial skills, school principal Alan Frishman said. Students at the academy are required to take more credits to graduate than students in most local schools, they sit through longer classes and they have to follow a dress code. According to Frishman, 100 percent of the academy’s graduating seniors go on to pursue higher education. The school’s relocation, Frishman said, is necessary in order to accommodate the growing number of students. The Academy currently has 200 students; the number is expected to double once the move is complete.

“We’re bursting at the seams,” Frishman said. “We have been thirsting for an opportunity to take the potential this school has to another level.”

In the presentation, Weisselberg and S.L.A.M representatives explained why the 111-119 Water St. site was selected among the 14 sites considered. One of the greatest advantages of the location is its proximity to the downtown/ Wooster Square area, close to the local business community, where students can practice the skills acquired at the school. Another important factor was the site’s cost. The project’s budget is capped at $34 million; only a portion of that sum can go towards the lot’s purchase, which means that many properties are off limits.

“The state is only going to reimburse up to a specific size of 74,000 feet,” Weisselberg said. “Much of the money will go towards the demolition and cleanup of the existing buildings. Also a lot of money is needed to constuct the school and purchase furniture.”

According to S.L.A.M’s representatives, many seemingly appropriate sites were eliminated from consideration because they were currently unavailable or judged to be unsuitable due to their shape and size. The Water Street site, currently occupied by June’s Place Bar and an old warehouse, is just enough to house the proposed 75,000 sq. foot building. In order to allow enough parking space, S.L.A.M’s architects designed a condensed, four-story building. Design Team member Richard P. Herzer Jr. said although the school will house a fitness center, it would not provide the students with outdoor athletic fields. Instead, students will have to go back to their towns and play sports after the school day has ended.

“We’re at the stage where we are trying to see if all the elements we want to put on the site will actually fit on the site,” Herzer said.

Some audience members said that the site simply isn’t big enough. A group of local business owners sitting at the back of the room all insisted that the lack of adequate parking space for student and faculty cars will cause them to park on the surrounding streets, crowding the area and hurting local commerce.

“I cannot see how the traffic is still going to flow down that street and those of us who are in business will stay in business,” an audience member said.

Schools superintendent Reginald Mayo and Weisselberg explained that although they would have preferred to purchase a larger part of the area to allow for more parking space, they could not do so due to funding constraints.

“We looked at spaces all over the city,” Mayo said. “They are very very limited. We don’t have many opportunities when we’re living in an urban area. I wish we had the money to buy all the property you are talking about.”

Principle Frishman assured the audience that none of the school’s current students drive cars and that parking would not be a problem. Business owners in attendance did not appear convinced, insisting that the land is too small for the project and that “students are students, they are going to drive.”

New Haven Urban Design League and Ward 8 resident Anstress Farwell said the site’s disadvantages are not limited to lack of space. Due to upcoming highway construction, she explained, the area is expected to become a diesel hot zone from 2009 to 2014. Farwell said the site simply wasn’t healthy for the students and that developers lack a comprehensive plan for the whole zone. Another neighbor, Mona Burman, said she was concerned about whether the building was going to be “green.” S.L.A.M’s representatives responded that the building would be high performance, and that a lot of attention will be paid to its orientation in order to acquire ample daylight and preserve energy. They said S.L.A.M has designed six LEED-certified buildings, many of which are somewhat similar to the proposed Metropolitan Business School as they serve institutions for higher education.

In order to receive its final approval, the project still has to go through a citywide school advisory committee, the Board of Education and the Board of Aldermen.