Thomas Breen photo
The former Harold's site at 19 Elm.
A new 96-unit apartment complex is one big step closer to coming to the site of the former Harold’s Bridal Shop, after zoning commissioners gave a final OK to the new owner’s requested parking relief.
They took that vote Tuesday night during the latest regular monthly meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), which was held online via Zoom.
The zoning commissioners unanimously approved a special exception to permit 24 off-street parking spaces where 48 are required, 0 off-street loading spaces where 1 is required, and a walking distance to off-street parking spaces located on a separate lot of 1,499 feet where 1,000 feet is required, all for the property located at 19 Elm St.
“We’ve received a favorable report from City Plan,” BZA Chair Mildred Melendez said during the commissioners brief discussion of the matter Tuesday. “Staff has recommended approval.” With that, all of the commissioners present voted in support of the zoning relief.
Tuesday night's zoning board meeting.
The vote closes the loop on a BZA application submitted at the beginning of the summer by a holding company affiliated with the New York City-based real estate firm The Hakimian Organization.
Since the BZA initially held a hearing on this requested parking relief back in July, the Hakimian Organization’s affiliate companies have purchased the long-vacant formal bridal shop property at 19 Elm St. from its previous owner, an affiliate of MOD Equities, for $4.85 million.
After buying up that vacant property, one of the Hakimian Organization’s executive directors told the Independent that his company plans to construct 96 new apartments at the Harold’s site, in line with the most recent site approval that the previous owners won in 2020.
The Harold’s site has sat empty since 2015.
In addition to wrapping up the Harold’s site special exception, which had been referred by the BZA to the City Plan Commission for review, as is the case for all parking-related zoning relief requests, the local zoning commissioners also unanimously approved on Tuesday night:
• Special exceptions to allow for transition parking, to permit 57 off-street parking spaces where 64 are required, and a coastal site plan review for 81 – 87 Woolsey St. and 362 – 374 Grand Ave. That zoning relief, requested by Fair Haven Community Health Care, will enable the neighborhood community health center to add 10 more parking spaces for patients and staff. Fair Haven Health plans to knock down three Woolsey Street buildings in disrepair as part of this parking expansion project. Click here to read a previous Independent article about those plans.
• A variance to allow a building wall height of 28 feet where 5 feet and 12 feet, 6 inches is respectively permitted, and a special exception to permit 3 off-street parking spaces where 18 are required at 53 Shelton Ave.. That zoning relief, required by the Believe in Me Empowerment Corporation (BIMEC), advances plans by the non-profit housing, counseling, and case management provider to construct 18 new single-room occupancy (SRO) units with individual bathrooms and kitchens in each apartment. Click here to read a previous Independent article about those plans.
I'm looking forward to all three projects. But the BZA agenda, while legally correct, is largely indecipherable to people who don't deal with land use for a living. There is a lot that the BZA and City Plan Commission can do to make the development process more transparent, starting with providing plain English summaries of proposed developments. (I would be fine with the applicants developing the summaries, subject to City Plan staff review for accuracy.)