nothin Hotel Duncan Renovation Sparks Vote For… | New Haven Independent

Hotel Duncan Renovation Sparks Vote For Hearing

Markeshia Ricks Photos

The Hotel Duncan, for which a redevelopment plan has ignited a conversation about affordable housing.

The City Plan Commission voted to host a discussion on how to preserve and encourage the development of affordable housing — but only if the Hotel Duncan needs its site plans reviewed.

The redevelopment of the Hotel Duncan — formerly operated as a quasi-hotel and boarding house — into a boutique” hotel has sparked a discussion of how to preserve affordable housing options like single-room occupancy establishments, or SROs, particularly downtown where expensive luxury housing has proliferated.

Commissioners voted 4 to 0, with one member abstaining, to pass a resolution Wednesday that instructs City Plan staff to schedule a public hearing should a site plan proposal for the Hotel Duncan renovation be submitted by the developers, a division of Chicago-based AJ Capital Partners called Graduate Hotels, that recently bought.

The commissioners acted at the request of Mayor Toni Harp.

Wharton: More red tape could chill development.

On the heels of a public meeting at City Hall about the redevelopment of the Duncan and the need to address the diversity of housing types downtown and around the city, Harp wrote in an Oct. 17 letter to the commission that transforming the Duncan likely would require major renovations and eliminate the SRO component of the business.

The City has received calls for a public hearing on the loss of the boarding house that currently constitutes approximately half of the property,” Harp wrote. There is significant public interest in the development impact of replacing that housing, which supports many long-term residents who contribute to the strength and stability of Downtown New Haven and many who depend on the community and human resources that Downtown gives them access to.”

Though it doesn’t usually hold a public hearing for site plan reviews, the city’s zoning code gives the commission the option. Harp asked the commission to use that function to create a forum to discuss the balance of housing and commercial uses downtown.”

When public hearings bring the community together before major changes to the city, they add value to the City’s ongoing decision-making process,” Harp wrote. The City Plan Commission is empowered to hold public hearings so that it can solicit public comment on the development impact of site proposals.”

Mattison (at right in photo): The city’s downtown is in danger of become a place only for the wealthy.

One commissioner abstained from the vote: Republican Jonathan Wharton. He expressed concern that the city would be adding one more layer of bureaucracy for developers. He agreed that addressing the diversity of housing options downtown and throughout the city is important but questioned attaching that to one particular project.

Wharton, a Southern Connecticut State University professor who studies and teaches about gentrification, praised a suggestion proposed by City Plan staffer Ann Hartjen before the resolution was passed. Hartjen’s proposal would have allowed the commission to call a hearing or public workshop addressing affordable housing as a land use issue and the city’s Vision 2025 comprehensive plan, which takes improving housing affordability” as one of its guiding principles.

I’m not against community involvement,” he said. I probably promote it too much. I just don’t have a full picture, and I think it’s kind of unusual to tag it onto this one project. What about future projects? I’d hate to see things stymied.”

Commission Chairman Ed Mattison said though the redevelopment of the Duncan is the impetus for the public hearing, its purpose isn’t to stymie new owners from their plans. Mattison, who also works for Continuum of Care, has been an advocate for the preservation and possible development of more SROs. Read about that here.

The feeling is that this is an important issue that the city has to deal with,” Mattison said. Somebody’s got to take the leadership role, and maybe it’s us.”

Tags:

Sign up for our morning newsletter

Don't want to miss a single Independent article? Sign up for our daily email newsletter! Click here for more info.


Post a Comment

Commenting has closed for this entry

Comments

Avatar for THREEFIFTHS

Avatar for susie the pit bull

Avatar for 1644

Avatar for susie the pit bull

Avatar for susie the pit bull

Avatar for susie the pit bull

Avatar for Kevin McCarthy

Avatar for THREEFIFTHS

Avatar for THREEFIFTHS

Avatar for Kevin McCarthy

Avatar for robn

Avatar for Kevin McCarthy

Avatar for susie the pit bull

Avatar for robn

Avatar for THREEFIFTHS

Avatar for Katydids

Avatar for Kevin McCarthy