Thomas MacMIllan Photos
Papa John’s might not be making pizza next to St. Luke’s Church for much longer. Instead, someone’s grandpapa might live in a new building there.
The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Tuesday evening heard a pitch to tear down the pizza joint at 125 Whalley Ave., along with surrounding structures, and replace them with a new mixed-use building with apartments set aside for the elderly.
That $15 million vision belongs to the St. Luke’s Development Corporation, a not-for-profit organization affiliated with St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, which stands at 111 Whalley Ave and owns the next-door plaza where Papa John’s does business.
The BZA did not vote on the plan, sending it instead to the City Plan Commission for a recommendation. The matter will return to the BZA next month for a final vote.
Paul B Bailey Architects
The proposed construction requires relief because the area is zoned for automotive uses, a holdover from a time when Whalley Avenue was lined with car dealerships and repair shops. The development would rise where Papa John’s pizza, an RV dealership, and Music Haven now stand.
St. Luke’s Development Corporation is looking to build on its previous housing development work. In 2006, the organization built the Josephine Jarvis Gray senior housing complex at the corner of Goffe, Sperry, and Dickerman streets.
The latest proposed development was initially pitched as senior housing. After consulting with neighbors, organizers changed the plan to a mix of senior and regular affordable housing.
The proposed development comprises three parts. A five-story mixed use building on Whalley Avenue would have two storefronts on the ground floor and 38 units in the floor above. In the rear of that building, on what is now an empty lot, a smaller, four-unit apartment building would go up. St. Luke’s would also rehab another Dickerman Street residential building that’s deteriorated.
Noah Kazis, a Yale law student working with St. Luke’s on the project, said the goal is to help create a more “walkable corridor” on Whalley Avenue. To that end, the building would not be set back from the street by a parking lot, but rise right by the sidewalk. And it would be mixed-use: not just apartments, and not just stores, but both.
Kazis handed board members 87 letters of support for the project, including one from Frank Douglass, the local alderman.
Samuel Andoh (pictured with Kazis) of St. Luke’s said the project would “stabilize” the neighborhood, increase property values, and “create an ambiance of safety.”
During public testimony, Sheila Masterson, head of the Whalley Avenue Special Services District, gave her full support for the project.
The City Plan Commission is scheduled to consider the plan next Wednesday.
It seems like the real problem here is the zoning. Why is the antiquated zoning still in place in an area that the city is actively trying to make more walkable?