Paul Bass Photo
St. Luke’s on Whalley.
The zoning board approved 32 new apartments by St. Luke’s Development Corporation on Whalley Avenue and started the process for four more downtown, as New Haven’s housing boom continues.
The Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve reduced parking for St. Luke’s Development Corporation’s mixed-use affordable housing project at 117, 125, 129 Whalley Ave., 10 and 12 Dickerman St., and 34 and 36 Sperry St. — ending a more than five-year zoning and financing process for the development surrounding St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. The church has been gradually working to improve the neighborhood surrounding it, beginning with a senior housing complex at the corner of Goffe and Sperry.
The commercial lot next to St. Luke’s, slated to be rebuilt under the project.
Commissioners also voted for the same project to approve a use variance for a mixed-use development on the site with a general office space, health practitioner’s office, music school, and beauty shop. They also voted for variances to allow 28 dwelling units on a 26,704 square-foot lot where 42,000 square feet are required, a building height of 52 feet where a maximum of 45 feet are required, no front yard where 17 feet are required and building coverage of 34.34 percent instead of the maximum 30 percent.
At last month’s zoning board and City Plan Commission meetings, Yale law student Jahi Wise and applicant Samuel Andoh presented the request for a reduction of parking spaces from 58 required to 36 on-site in adjacent automotive sales and residential zones. No one spoke out for or against them in the public hearings.
The approved project is one unified development from Whalley Avenue to Dickerman Street, with multiple structures sharing common parking areas and open space. The Whalley Avenue properties would include a 45,000 square-foot four-story building with 28 affordable units, including 10 for the elderly, six studio apartments, and 12 two-bedroom apartments. The Whalley Avenue and Dickerman Street developments would have 24 parking spaces at 34 – 36 Sperry Street.
The Sperry and Dickerman Street properties would feature one three-story structure with four apartments and on-site parking for 24 cars.
The St. Luke’s senior complex on Goffe.
St. Luke’s was granted approval for the plan in 2013 and a one-year extension on November 10, 2014, but Andoh could not find financing for the project at the time. He reduced the height of the proposed residential building on Whalley and reduced the number of apartments from 40 to 28, to make it more affordable to complete.
Commissioners Tuesday night added one condition: that the project include interior parking for 10 bikes in the Whalley Avenue building and four in the Dickerman Street building.
Higher On High?
Aliyya Swaby Photo
Pinto at Tuesday’s zoning hearing.
Zoning commissioners also heard developers’ plans to add four units to an existing residential building on High Street. They did not vote on the matter; it will go to City Plan Commission later this month, before returning to the zoning board.
East River Partners LLC purchased 32 High St. and 36 – 38 High St. properties in the winter and is in the process of expanding the properties’ residential units, said architect Wayne Garrick.
The owner wants to add a fifth floor with four units, on top of an existing four-floor 16-unit residential brownstone building, said lawyer Jim Segaloff. Each unit has three rooms, he said. They asked for a variance to allow a sideyard of 3.8 feet where 30 feet is required and a special exception to allow no on-site parking spaces where three are required in a central business district.
Plan for fifth floor on 36 High St.
Most of the tenants in the building are “car light or car-less,” said lawyer Michael Pinto. Parking is available in nearby garages including York Street and Temple Street Garages.
The building will also have indoor and outdoor bike parking, Garrick said. The indoor parking will be half a flight down to the basement, which will make it easy to bring bikes in and out.
Has the Development Corporation actually lined up financing for the St. Luke's project, or has the downsizing and zoning approval merely made it more feasible to get financing?