Allan Appel Photo
Two East Rock institutions, Caffe Bravo and the Bob and Susan Frew’s real estate portfolio of holdings, moved ahead with new ambitions at Tuesday night’s Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.
The neighborhood restaurant Caffe Bravo at Orange and Willow was given permission to serve hard liquor to complement the beer and wine currently flowing. In addition, owners John and Marylou DiPaola were given a variance to reconfigure the inside of the restaurant so that a small bar serving seven people will be created.
BZA commissioner Victor Fasano asked for assurance that the total of 32 seats within the restaurant would not be increased by the addition of the bar. Attorney John Pellegrino that the number of seats inside would remain the same, with some tables sacrificed for the new bar space. Nor would outside seating be altered.
A City Plan staff report indicated to the zoners that since the addition of wine and beer service a few years ago, there has been no problem reported in the neighborhood. The report recommended the full service liquor addition as an intensification of an already non-conforming use that would have no adverse impact.
Bravo neighbor Matthew Ranelli disagreed. In a letter read to the commissioners by Vincent Landisio, he asserted, “The introduction of a full service bar in a residential neighborhood threatens the fabric of the neighborhood.”
Pellegrino countered that the bar would not operate as a standalone bar but essentially serve the restaurant customers, especially toward the end of the evening. In any event Bravo will not serve alcohol of any kind after 9 p.m.
Letters of support were submitted by customers as well as faculty at Wilbur Cross High School, whose activities DiPaola supports.
The zoners agreed, and the proposal passed unanimously.
Across Willow, down to Lawrence Street and into Goatville, plans also advanced to transform the great pile of bricks that is the former Lovell School and, until 2010 Wilbur Cross’s CT Scholars Academy, into a complex of 18 units of affordable housing.
Bob and Susan Frew, who in February were the successful bidders on the site when it was surplussed by the Board of Ed, sought a variance to allow the 18 units whereas the 26,000 square-foot site permits only 13.
City Economic Development Office staffer Michael Pinto said that in its sale of the property, the city “imposed hardship by requiring residential reuse.”
The Frews’ preliminary floor plans indicate that the proposed building will have loft units, one and two-bedroom units, and community and conference spaces as well.
One neighbor expressed concerns about parking and the type of housing ultimately being offered. Pinto said that zoning requires that 18 units each have a parking slot, and that the existing parking was already striped for more. As to the types of apartments, Pinto described them as “market rate.”
The zoners passed the variance unanimously. Next stop is presentation of a detailed site plan review to the City Plan Commission.
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