Commercial kitchen El Amigo Felix to get new neighbors.
A plan to build six new apartments atop the former El Amigo Felix restaurant on Whalley Avenue won its final needed city approval — marking the first new development OK’d for that recently rezoned “commercial gateway” corridor.
The City Plan Commission voted unanimously during its latest meeting Thursday night to support a site plan put forward by local pizza maker and landlord Kadir Catalbasoglu, who intends to build an additional three stories atop shuttered Mexican eatery El Amigo Felix at 8 Whalley Ave.
Read more about that plan here, which is the first application that city officials and commissioners have reviewed and approved that’s in line with a January 2020 overhaul of the zoning of that stretch of Whalley Avenue.
That land-use-law update set new standards of development along Whalley Avenue between Howe Street and Pendleton Street in hopes of establishing a more walkable, environmentally conscious neighborhood-feel along the main stretch. Some of those changes included replacing parking minimums with parking maximums; allowing certain commercial uses like bakeries, supermarkets, and restaurants as of right; and increasing the allowable floor area ratio (FAR) for new building projects to 3.0, with additional density available through a variety of environmental sustainability incentives, including the use of mass timber construction methods. The rezoning undertaking labeled that portion of Whalley Avenue a “Commercial Gateway District.” Read more about that here.
“I believe this is our first project at City Plan Commission that is in the commercial gateway district on Whalley Avenue,” City Planner Esther Rose-Wilen reported Thursday. “We feel that this project is in alignment for the goals of that newer district, with high-density residential above a commercial ground floor and well positioned for non-car-dependent transportation.”
“This commission was part of the process for passing the ordinance that established the Commercial Gateway District,” Westville Alder and Commissioner Adam Marchand added. “Much of the corridor was zoned and developed with things like car dealerships in mind many, many years ago,” Marchand recalled. “Part of the vision,” he said of the new zoning district, “is to bring greater vibrancy and a stronger urban feeling up and down that corridor.”
Catalbasoglu received parking relief for this project from the Board of Zoning Appeals last month, meaning the apartments won’t require any fresh paving to store more cars. The owner of the property has agreed to put in a new sidewalk and curb cut on Howe Street to replace what is currently deteriorating concrete.
On Thursday, building consultant Andrew Rizzo, who represented Catalbasoglu at the City Plan Commission meeting, said that three stories will be added on top of the existing currently vacant restaurant.
Each of the above residential floors will house two apartments while the bottom commercial level will likely be converted into a different restaurant other than the shuttered El Amigo Felix.
Rizzo said construction should start in the spring of 2023 and tenants should be able to move in by early 2024.
While representatives pitched the project as a way to bolster New Haven’s housing stock while creating a more bustling pedestrian space, City Plan Commission Chair Radcliffe wondered whether construction itself might threaten residents’ access to safe sidewalks over the course of the year.
Rizzo said the building team would protect passersby while avoiding walkway closures by adding sidewalk sheds along Whalley Avenue.
Looking at renderings of the site plan, which illustrates balconies facing Howe Street, Radcliffe said she could imagine the street underlying the apartment windows as “a good place to have Mardi Gras or something.”
“I think our architect did a beautiful job of designing this so it’ll be a very aesthetic corner when it’s done,” Rizzo said.
As each commissioner voted “yes” on the apartment plan, Marchand celebrated the project as a step forward for the city: “This adds more units, more feet on the streets. In general, it’s a good thing to have more people living in this area.”
I am very pleased that this project received such a glowing endorsement from the zoning officials. It will be an attractive addition to the Broadway area. It is also great that a local businessman was able to prevail unlike other developments driven by out-of-town corporations and mega landlords with no roots in New Haven.