Demolition Draws Near For Dixwell Plaza Redev

Dixwell Plaza’s redevelopers plan to start knocking down vacant buildings in the mid-century shopping plaza as soon as September — as they move forward with a years-in-the-making effort to build up the heart of New Haven’s historic Black neighborhood.

Those plans were presented by the Connecticut Community Outreach and Revitalization Program (ConnCORP) and its construction partners on Wednesday night during a community meeting they hosted at the Stetson Library at 197 Dixwell Ave.

The point of the meeting was to update Dixwell neighbors on the status and timeline of the redevelopment of the commercial strip on Dixwell Avenue between Webster Street and Charles Street.

ConnCORP Vice President of Real Estate Ian Williams described the Dixwell Plaza redevelopment as ​“our big baby” in the making after nearly a decade of work planning and acquiring blighted and underused properties in the neighborhood. 

“No one will be disappointed,” he said.

Phase 1 of the planned redevelopment will see the redevelopers, an affiliate of the job-training nonprofit ConnCAT, demolish Dixwell Plaza’s existing commercial condos and the old Elks Club at 87 Webster St. and build in their stead 184 apartments (20 percent of which will be set aside at below-market rents), a 18,460 square-foot food hall, a 20,000 square-foot grocery store, 5,600 square feet of Dixwell Avenue-fronting retail space, a new headquarters for ConnCAT, a healthcare clinic, a daycare center, a public plaza, and a 392-space temporary surface parking lot.

Phase 2 of the project is slated to include a new 350-seat performing arts center, a five-story office building, 13 new townhouses, and a 340-space garage.

Click here to view the project’s full demolition plan, as presented on Wednesday.

ConnCORP Chief Operating Officer Paul McCraven said in the next 60 days neighbors should expect to see activity begin at the site. He said phase one of the project will cost an estimated $146 million. 

He said the ideas for the plaza renderings were generated from the community through a study of neighborhood needs about six years ago. He added that the public plaza area will have programming run by ConnCAT. McCraven said the space will host concerts, food markets, live performances, an outdoor eating space for food hall users, and will be a neighborhood convening location managed by ConnCAT. 

ConnCORP Board Chair Carlton Highsmith and CEO Erik Clemons were also in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting. 

Clemons reminded neighbors that their goal is to keep Dixwell history prevalent and rich in the redeveloped plaza plans.

He added his team visited the Beinecke Library for three hours learning about Dixwell’s powerful history from Director of Community Engagement Michael Morand.

McCraven offered more details about the project plans and confirmed that Orchid Cafe, which is currently housed at Science Park, will move operations to the new Dixwell plaza.

For the neighborhood grocery space Clemons confirmed that the store partner will be a variation of Elm City Market with a ​“different line up of products” and in the neighborhood’s price point, he said. 

Clemons added that Elm City Market has a commitment to hiring from within the community. 

One neighbor asked if land will be available on the site for residents to have community gardening spaces. McCraven said the plans include having two greenhouses on top of the parking garage but that there is not much more space on the site for other farming and gardening activity. 

4-Month Demolition To Start In September

Much of Wednesday’s hour-long meeting focused on the upcoming demolition plans for the site and how it will impact residents and one of the city’s main travel arteries. 

Skanska USA Building Inc. Senior Project Manager Beau Burgess and Project Superintendent Brian Lake shared with neighbors the timeline and logistics of the demolition period. 

Burgess said his team has been in conversation with ConnCAT to ​“try to minimize the impact” on the neighborhood while taking down several acres of buildings. 

The abatement process is expected to last all of August, Burgess said, and then the first building on Webster is set to come down in September. The construction workers are expected to be on site for set up within 60 days.

Demolition is expected to last from September to December with the plan to take down a building each month. 

During demolition the road between the plaza’s parking lot and the Florence Virtue apartments will be kept open, Burgess confirmed. 

He added that at the request of ConnCAT and the Community Health Pharmacy, the drug store will remain open during demolition and construction. 

During demolition and construction a temporary fence will be installed tight to building. And the Dixwell bus shelters will still be accessible. 

The parking lot will have two access points to remain usable for church access and ConnCAT. 

The construction trucks and equipment storage will be kept off of Dixwell Avenue and secluded to the parking lot at the corner of Webster and Winter Streets.

The demolition direction will start at Webster Street and head in the direction of Charles Street, with the exception of taking down the buildings in four months. 

Burgess said all the site buildings won’t be taken down all at once. The demolition work will begin at 87 Webster St., the former site for the Elks Club. 

After each demolition the disposable material will be loaded and hauled off site each workday with city coordinated routes for disposals. 

The demolition work hours will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Burgess said his team most recently completed a pre-bid meeting and next plan to put out the project’s Request for Proposal (RFP) to gather all bids from subcontractors by the end of this month. Once the subcontractors are selected around July, the site will begin to have fencing encircling the buildings to begin the abatement process this August. 

What About Air Quality? Traffic?

In the midst of the redevelopment plans being shared, neighbors raised concerns about the impact on air quality during a planned four-month demolition period and parking concerns for senior church goers. 

Admiral Street resident E. Lindsey-Ruminski raised concerns about how the area’s air quality will be maintained for the nearby neighbors, senior center, and school. 

Burgess said his team’s standard practice is to do water misting while demolition is occurring to control dust from traveling. 

One neighbor suggested a PurpleAir sensor be installed in the neighborhood with the help of the state’s Department of Energy & Environmental Protection during the demolition work and permanently for the city to collect air quality data. 

Lindsey-Ruminski, who has lived in Dixwell for 21 years, left Wednesday’s meeting excited about ConnCAT’s investment in the neighborhood, but there remained concerns about the lack of planning around the impacts to the neighborhood air quality, especially for youth and seniors. 

“Our kids have a lot of asthma issues already, it seems selfish that they didn’t consider that,” she said. 

She added that the parking distance for church members is also an issue she hopes to hear more about at the next update session. 

“That should have been a priority,” she said. ​“They’re not yet meeting our needs.” 

Lindsey-Ruminski added that ​“everything around us is changing” and she worries that the new site will not be affordable for those who have lived in Dixwell for decades like herself. 

“Whose going to be moving here?” she asked. 

“To me bringing Elm City Market here just means you’re bringing Yale in,” she said. 

While discussing the site’s 184 apartments that will reserve 20 percent of units for affordable housing, city Purchasing Contract Analyst and Dixwell neighbor Pat Solomon suggested ConnCAT look into the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program. 

Clemons said he would have a conversation with Solomon after Wednesday’s meeting to ​“get smart” on the possible PILOT program options. 

Sharon Waddley-Stevens of the Women of the Village food pantry, which currently operates out of the Charles Street police substation, asked if her clients will be impacted by the demolition and construction work. 

Burgess confirmed that fencing will not be put around the front of the substation and the parking lot will still be accessible. 

Another neighbor brought up concerns about the extended walking distance between the parking lot and the three Webster Street churches. 

Neighbors suggested that the team consider allowing elderly churchgoers to park in what was reserved for construction parking and equipment storage, to make the walk easier for seniors. 

Burgess said the neighbors’ concerns about senior parking are well taken and he plans to take the feedback to his office to try and come up with more convenient parking for those using the church buildings along Webster Street. ​“I think we can come up with a plan,” he said. 

When asked about what expected noise levels will be during demolition, Burgess said his team does not expect to work extended hours into evenings or on the weekends and noise will include mostly heavy equipment moving.

One neighbor asked how exactly the buildings will be taken down. 

Lake said ​“no explosives” and ​“no more wrecking balls” will be used to avoid any traveling vibrations in the neighborhood. 

The team will use excavators to pull the buildings down on themselves one at a time. 

Neighbors raised concerns about whether their house will be shaking during the demolitions but Burgess said the vibration level is expected to be low and have minimal travel because there will be no blasting.

Other neighbors also shared concerns with Lindsey-Ruminski about the demolitions impact on the air quality for neighborhood seniors and school children which will return to school during the planned four-month demolition process. 

To close out the Wednesday meeting Clemons announced to neighbors that ConnCAT will be hosting a neighborhood celebration ​“to honor the plaza and pay homage to its history” on July 22 at noon. 

He is working to form a committee, including many who showed up to the Wednesday meeting to help his team organize the event in a way that will honor Dixwell’s history.