Thomas MacMillan Photo
Paul Bass Photo
Roth: 360 State says tenants “don’t feel safe” hitting Union St.
An empty lot at a central downtown intersection may soon come to life — not as a new store, or offices or apartments, but as a spot for nearby high-rise tenants’ canines to answer the call of nature.
Bentall Kennedy, the company that manages 360 State, is conferring with the city about plans for the dog park at the corner of Orange and Chapel streets (pictured), right next to the 32-story apartment tower.
Representatives from Bentall Kennedy could not be reached for comment about the dog-park plans. It’s unclear whether the proposed park would be open to the public, or accessible only by 360 State tenants.
Either way, the city is not enthusiastic about the prospect.
“Public or private, a dog poop area is not the conversation we want to have right now,” said Matt Nemerson, the city’s economic development chief.
Nemerson said he’d rather see a four- to six-story building with retail and office space at that corner.
Downtown Alder Abby Roth also raised questions about the plan. And supporters of the Union Street dog park, just a couple blocks away, are concerned that a new park would mean 360 State tenants would stop using the Union Street park.
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The northeast corner lot (pictured) at Orange and Chapel has been empty and fenced in for years, since before tenants began moving into 360 State nearly four years ago. The property belongs to Multi-Employee Property Trust (MEPT), the equity fund that owns 360 State.
The initial plan was to develop the property after 360 State was complete. Those plans were shelved after 360 State got into a protracted tax dispute with the city. The property continues to sit vacant, occupied only by gravel, weeds, and litter.
Nemerson said he’s mindful of the city’s rocky recent history with 360 State, as he tries to encourage the management company to abandon the dog-park plan.
“360 State and the city have had a complicated relationship for the last couple of years,” said Nemerson. Mayor Toni Harp is intent on forging better relations, he said.
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Nemerson (pictured) said he’s been “talking and spending a lot of time with the whole [Bentall Kennedy] management team down in Baltimore, trying to establish a really good working relationship.”
Bentall Kennedy manages “hundreds and hundreds” of properties, Nemerson said. “They are an important reference account. Having them wanting to do another project is important to us.”
“Having said that,” Nemerson said, “we did say to them that the corner of Orange and Chapel was a key visual image for that part of the city. We volunteered to fix it up this summer and turn it into an eating area, maybe with some food trucks.” He said the city spoke with Elm City Market, the food co-op on the bottom floor of 360 State, about having outdoor food service in the lot.
Nearby Pitkin Plaza has emerged as a popular summer spot this year, with the addition of a “World Cup Village” for watching the global soccer tournament.
Thomas MacMillan Photo
Nemerson said the city offered Bentall Kennedy other options, too. “We also said, if that’s too active, we’d be happy with a meditation garden, with pretty benches and a fountain.”
Bentall Kennedy didn’t go for those ideas, proposing a dog park instead.
“We’re not enamored with the idea of a dog park,” Nemerson said.
Lucy Gellman Photo
The monthly pug party at Union Street’s dog park.
For starters, Nemerson said, there’s “a wonderful dog park a block away.” The Union Street Dog Park is a great way to bring together people from downtown and Wooster Square, he said. “We think we have enough dog parks.”
Also, a dog park is not the best use of that corner, Nemerson said. The city hopes to see a building on the lot some day. In the meantime, “what we really want there is an attractive summer fun eating area.”
Whatever happens, the lot should stay open to the public, Nemerson said. “We’re not really happy with it being private under any circumstances. We really do want this to be a public amenity” that “ties together” the area.
Alder Roth said it would be strange to have a fenced-in private park in the middle of such a public space. “I’d almost think people will start to feel weird being in there.”
Liability issues might be a obstacle to keeping it open to the public, Roth and Nemerson said.
“I’m glad they want to activate it,” Roth said. A dog park would be better than nothing, but “I don’t want it to take away from the existing dog park,” she said.
That concern emerged on the Union Street Dog Park group Facebook page, where one member posted an open letter to Roth, asking her to try to dissuade 360 State from the dog park plan.
“I think it’s a mistake to make this land a private dog park because it will dilute the user pool for the Union Street Dog Park,” the member wrote. “A huge amount of effort has been expended by the city and volunteers (including many great 360 State residents) to convert the Union Street Park (formerly a drug haven) into a public dog park.”
Roth wrote back that she is happy to share the member’s concerns with 360 State. “However, as you acknowledge, I probably can’t make much of a difference. And the reason I am particularly doubtful is that the property management folks for 360 State Street said many of the residents of 360 State said they really want a private dog park because they work at YNHH [Yale-New Haven Hospital] and walk their dogs at odd hours of the night and so don’t feel safe in the Union St. Dog Park.”
The Union Street Dog Park is sure to become more popular in the near future, with new apartment complexes planned for the nearby Comcast building site and an adjoining lot as well as the old New Haven Coliseum site, Roth said.
The original site plan had a landscaped plaza initially, followed by a building once funding could be assembled.
Installing a private dog park here represents a betrayal of the developer's contract, and an abhorrent de-democratization of public space.
The community shouldn't roll over on this. Can someone plan a sit-in?