“Three Sisters” Begin A 2nd Life

A rescued row of historic brick homes, once condemned to make way for a school, have brightened a hardscrabble stretch of the Hill.

The three turn-of-the-century (turn-of-the-last-century) row houses at 619 Congress Ave. are known as the ​“Three Sisters.” They reopened to the public Monday, rebuilt practically from scratch, but preserved in their historic beauty, as 12 spacious, modern condominiums.

The city planned to demolish the homes. They had degenerated into a contiguous, decrepit flophouse frequented by squatters and ne’er-do-wells. The idea was to help make room for a new K‑8 school.

Instead, neighborhood activists and local preservationists prevailed on the city to redraw the school plan to spare the Three Sisters. The city agreed to renovate the Three Sisters instead of consigning them to the metaphoric graveyard overflowing with so many other New Haven gems claimed by the bulldozers of progress.

“The neighborhood educated us,” Mayor John DeStefano said at a Monday ceremony marking the job’s completion.

Antonia Garcia (pictured above outside the property Monday) has watched the sisters’ rebirth from behind the cash register directly across the street at Congress Market, on the block between Baldwin and Arch streets. A few blocks in either direction, she still sees signs of decay. But in her four years on the job she’s seen the immediate view improve markedly. First the gleaming new John C. Daniels School arose from the ashes of dozens of rundown homes (which neighbors and preservationists failed to save despite a federal lawsuit). Then, over the past two years, the city gradually gutted and rebuilt the Three Sisters to their new splendor.

Two of the three-story buildings were constructed in 1897, the third after the turn of the century. They are marked by graceful entries, windows, cornices, sloped roofs, and bay windows. They originally served as residences for nurses working at what was then called Grace-New Haven Hospital.

The $3.2 million job proved trickier than originally envsioned, said Derick Morgan (pictured), project manager for New Haven government’s Livable City Initiative. The city knew the three contiguous buildings had decayed. Until beginning work, it didn’t realize the roof had rotted through. Water damage spread through the houses. The entire structure needed gutting and reframing.

The job of designing the new sisters, and regaining the buildings’ historic charm, fell to architect Ken Boroson (at right in photo) and his firm’s project manager, Stan Solarski (at left). ​“It’s been fun,” Solarski said Monday. ​“Easy projects are boring.” (Carlson Constructin of Stratford was the general contractor.)

The architects kept the facade true to its original look.

They also preserved the cuts of the windows.

The cornices needed to be rebuilt. ​“Pigeons go back there and corroded the metal” of the originals,” Boroson said.

They eliminated the common entrances connecting the three buildings. The 12 apartments have all new modern interiors with hardwood floors and energy-efficient windows. The condos are aimed at families. Two-bedroom first-floor units start at 1,050 square feet; four-bedroom units run to 1,980 square feet. The upstairs units encompass two floors with open living rooms. Two of the condos are handicapped accessible. Prices run from $180,000 to $215,000. Five are aimed families under 80 percent or less of the area median income; families can be matched with federal homebuyer assistance. H. Pearce is marketing the property.

“There are going to be tough times ahead,” remarked Joan McDonald, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, which contributed $2 million toward the project. ​“In the midst of tough times, we have to celebrate the victories. Three Sisters is definitely a victory.”