New Haven Independent

Yacht Club Sunk In The Name Of History

by Thomas MacMillan | July 14, 2009 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Yachters wanted to expand and renovate this venerable building. A decision by the Historic District Commission has left them high and dry.

The Pequonnock Yacht Club, a century-old Bridgeport institution, is hoping to make its new home in City Point, New Haven’s historic waterfront district. The club planned to renovate two buildings on South Water Street, turning them into clubhouses for its members. Last month, the proposal was approved by the City Plan Commission.

A meeting last week of the Historic District Commission was a different story — a story, as one interested party put it, about “trade-offs in historic preservation.”

Local residents turned out to the meeting last Wednesday to voice their opposition to the project. Neighbors raised concerns about the club’s plans for the historic buildings that it intends to overhaul. Sufficiency of parking for the nearby Sage restaurant was also a large concern for the neighborhood.

Coming to the aid of neighbors was a local non-profit, the New Haven Urban Design League, which filed a petition to intervene on the proceedings. A representative from the New Haven Preservation Trust also spoke, on the importance of preserving the historical buildings.

In response to such opposition, the Historic District Commission voted to deny the yacht club’s proposal without prejudice, thereby preventing it from moving forward with the renovation plans, but leaving the door open for future proposals. The yacht club has not yet decided its next move.

For neighbors, the troublesome issue was not the presence of the yacht club per se — many would like to see a maritime use for the property — but the manner in which the yacht club intended to change the buildings.

City Point resident Lucian Addorio (at right in photo) was a lone voice of opposition at the meeting of the City Plan Commission last month. He joined by others at the Historic District Commission meeting last Wednesday, where he again spoke out against the yacht club’s proposal. Still, Addorio said later that he was “sorry to see that it was denied.”

“I know we weren’t opposed to a yacht club being there,” he said. The denial by the Historic District Commission means that City Point is “losing a possible good neighbor,” Addorio said.

But Addorio also had some critical words for the club. “I think Pequonnock has a very specific agenda, and I don’t think they’re flexible.” Addorio objected to the club’s plans for expansion, saying that the size of the renovated building would be out of proportion with the neighborhood. The yacht club’s plans were “in bad taste,” he said. He compared the situation to the nearby Harbor Point condominiums, which are also “in bad taste,” he said.

“It’s not that we didn’t want the yacht club to come in,” said Kris Sainsbury, another City Point resident who voiced her opposition to the club’s plans at the Historic District Commission meeting. Her main concern was that the club’s renovations would “take away a piece of history that will never be again.”

The buildings in question were constructed in the 1890s, Sainsbury said, and were home to Smith Brothers, one of several oyster companies that used to occupy City Point, which was formerly known as Oyster Point. The Thomas Oyster Company, building, another historic City Point structure, was floated to Mystic in 1967. “That’s why we’re protective of this one,” she said.

The yacht club’s expansion plans, which would nearly double the size of one of the buildings, would completely obscure the original historic building, Sainsbury said.

“Once history is gone, it’s gone forever,” she said.

Sainsbury was optimistic that a more amenable plan would find the approval of the neighborhood. “I’m quite sure we could come to some wonderful agreement that would benefit all,” she said.

Anstress Farwell, president of the New Haven Urban Design League, said that she received a number of calls from troubled neighbors worried about the yacht club’s plans. In response, Farwell filed a petition to intervene in the proceedings, utilizing the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act. Her organization thus effectively became a party in the negotiations.

“I hate taking strong actions like this,” Farwell said. “But I think the neighbors are extremely happy that we did what we did.”

Farwell said she has contacted the Pequonnock Yacht Club and offered to assist the club in the preparation of another proposal for the Historic District Commission. Farwell served as a commissioner for 12 years.

Dave Battistoni, commodore at the Pequonnock Yacht Club, said that he was surprised that his club’s plans had been rejected. He said the club had followed all the regulations and communicated extensively with the commission. “I’m kind of in awe as to why they turned it down,” he said.

“We don’t have a plan right now,” Battistoni said. He will meet with the club’s board soon to decide a course of action, he said.

“There’s a lot of stress involved in this one,” Battistoni said. The club has made a significant investment in architectural plans, he said.

“We’ll persevere,” he concluded. “We’ll move forward somehow.”

Alex Johnston, head of the City Point Historic District Neighborhood Association, said he hopes the yacht club does persevere despite the commission’s rejection. The Pequonnock Yacht Club, which recently won $6 million from the city of Bridgeport, is well-positioned to give the property that capital injection that it will need if it is to be preserved.

“I don’t know when the next person with six million will come along,” Johnston said. It will be very unfortunate if the yachters take their club elsewhere, and the buildings suffer “demolition by neglect,” Johnston said.

Investment by the yacht club would mean a caretaker for the historic buildings, but it might also mean that the buildings are modified and changed. “It’s a great case study in the trade-offs in historic preservation,” Johnston said.

“We’ve got to figure out who’s going to use this building,” he said. “This building needs to be used.”

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Comments

Posted by: Mister Jones | July 14, 2009 2:33 PM

Is a vacant building without much historical architectural detail better than a renovated use consistent with the location's maritime heritage?

Posted by: truthtopower | July 14, 2009 2:42 PM

Bless the Urban Design League for all its good efforts to preserve what is worthy in New Haven and to make it even better. There is room for compromise here and I hope the Bridgeport club will set a high standard of cooperation and vision.

Posted by: City Hall Watch | July 14, 2009 4:06 PM

The club should move elsewhere and leave these buildings to rot. Perhaps Urban Design and these concerned neighbors can use their own resources to restore these unsightly and useless buildings to their own needs. As for Farwell's comments about jamming the club - yeah right.

Posted by: christopher schaefer | July 14, 2009 8:31 PM

I wholeheartedly agree with Alex Johnston that working out an acceptable compromise with the Yacht Club is the best way to see the building preserved yet adapted for modern use. As he put it so well "I don't know when the next person with six million will come along." I personally provided the architect with photos of what the Smith Bros. building originally looked like, and he did a great job on the blueprint of restoring it to its original appearance. If the ugly storefront that was tacked onto the right side several decades ago can be replaced with something that is compatible with the original building, serves the club's needs but has a reduced profile, all will come out winners.

Posted by: robn | July 15, 2009 9:51 PM

It may be disheartening for the yacht club to sit down with locals and historic groups to discuss how they spend their own money, but they should try to look at it another way...those groups may have lots of good suggestions and professional advice and it would be available for free. It wouldn't hurt to just sit down and talk about it.

Posted by: Kris Sainsbury | July 16, 2009 12:32 PM

This article was well balanced and informative offering the readers differing views and professional insights into the proposed Yacht Club Project. To help the reader better understand this situation - it should be mentioned that City Point is recognized on the -National Register of Historic Places (1989) - "as a neighborhood rich in architectual and historical significance" - and has since - worked to become established as a designated 'Local Historic District'. - As per the Historic District Commissions Mandate - which is - "to distinguish and preserve areas of the City which are unique for historical and architectural values and which therefore promote the edicational, cultural and general welfare of the public through their continued existence."
Should the Yacht Club wish to persue this site -
A collaborative efftort that meets the expections of City Point as an established LHD -and the needs of their club - could prove advantageous for all concerned.
Our History - New Havens History - is Precious -it offers an Irreplaceable glimps into the past - that seemlessly melds into the present.
kris

Posted by: Bruce | July 16, 2009 6:07 PM

ROBN, the yacht club says that they "communicated extensively" with the commission before submitting the plans.

This sounds like the new owners face exactly the same problem the previous owners faced. They would probably submit a plan that met the commission's criteria if someone would simply tell them what that criteria is. This renovation could result in some major improvements to the property. Just give them some guidelines.

For the record, I don't live down there but I used to keep a boat there before the yacht club bought it. I love that little neighborhood.

Posted by: Dan | July 21, 2009 4:43 PM

It's funny how you travel only a few minutes up I-95 and get completely isolated from events in another community. I'm not a member of the yacht club, but I'm a little familiar with their situation, and was somewhat pleased to hear that they found a potential home.

Pequonnock Yacht Club has been looking for a new home after the City of Bridgeport has essentially squashed them for the perpetually-delayed Steel Point project. They were essentially told "get out or else", and were originally given much less than the grounds were worth. After a lengthy court battle, they got something approaching a fair price to help with the near impossible task of relocating a yacht club.

I've done work on several boats at the old location. These aren't people rolling in money... this is definitely more of a working-class club. If yacht clubs exist on a spectrum, and Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich is on one end, these guys are on the opposite end. This club is always struck me as one of those clubs where families were... people stayed members because they had good memories of spending time with parents and grandparents, not because they were looking for the status of belonging to a yacht club.

Complaints about the yacht club's bar are absurd. The level of service between the club bar and Sage restaurant might as well be the Grand Canyon. The existing yacht club bar at Pequonnock is a pretty spartan affair. You can get things like hot dogs and hamburgers, and beer straight from the can! It's akin to the bar you would find at a VFW, Elks Club, or Knights of Columbus.

I don't know specifically what was said during the rejection ruling. However, my experience has always been that unless the issues that lead to the rejection are explicitly stated so that they may be addressed, these projects die. How do you change something so that it will be approved if you have no idea what was wrong in the first place? The Historic Commission needs to be specific and reasonable if they have any hopes of keeping this project moving.

I hope this project can go forward. It seems like having the club occupy the property is a winning situation for all involved. The neighborhood will get a stable occupant of the property who is not looking to make a quick buck, wants to help keep the neighborhood in good condition, and is in for the long haul. The yacht club gets a new home where the city hopefully won't foreclose on them in pursuit of some absurd project that will never come to fruition. The Sound School gets a neighboor that shares common values. Sage restaurant gets more potential customers (members and visiting boaters will probably take a walk over to have a nice meal). And the City of New Haven gets another tax paying organization that will additionally help carry on New Haven's maritime history.

Yacht Club Sunk In The Name Of History

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