Thomas Breen photo
Yale's current Chemical Safety Building at 350 Edwards: To be demolished, according to Yale's Science Hill development plans.
Alders granted a needed parking-related approval for Yale’s proposal to knock down and construct a new chemical safety building off of Prospect and Edwards Streets — as the university moves ahead in the early stages of a broader plan for building up Science Hill.
Local legislators took that vote of support Tuesday night during the latest bimonthly full Board of Alders meeting, which was held in person in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.
The alders voted unanimously to approve a resolution “certifying that no amendment to the Yale University Central/Science Campus Overall Parking Plan is required for the application for development permit/site plan review pertaining to the construction of a new chemical safety building on the Yale University Science Hill Block,” as the title of the legislative item states.
Translation: Yale wants to build a new single-story, 13,000 square-foot building near Prospect and Edwards Street for the storage of chemicals used in nearby Yale science programs.
And, with Tuesday’s vote, the alders confirmed that the likely parking-related impact of such a development would be minimal enough that the university does not need to update its overall parking plan with the city for that area before moving ahead to the City Plan Commission for further review of the demolition and construction project.
The chemical safety building off of Edwards ...
... and the entrance to Yale's chemistry building off of Prospect.
J. Michael Bellamy, Yale’s vice president for facilities and campus development, went into further detail on the purpose of the proposed new chemical safety building — and on how this project fits into the university’s larger building plans for the 36-acre Science Hill area bounded by Prospect Street, Edwards Street, Whitney Avenue and Sachem Street – in a related submission sent in to the Board of Alders on Feb. 13.
“This project involves the construction of a new chemical safety building and associated site improvements on the northwest portion of Yale University’s Science Hill block,” reads a project narrative included in Yale’s development application. “Following completion of construction and the commencement of operation of the new building, the existing chemical safety building on Science Hill will be removed.
“The chemical safety building is an integral part of the University’s science and safety programs. The building is used to store chemicals used in the University’s science programs and for the management of wastes generated in those programs. The construction of the new building is an enabling project to the development of a new science building, additions to the existing Wright Laboratory, and associated improvements which will be located, in part, on the site of the existing chemical safety building. These proposed projects are currently in the design phase and will be the subject of future applications which will also address the removal of the existing chemical safety building. This application is only related to the construction of the new chemical safety building and associated improvements.”
Bellamy wrote that the construction of the planned new chemical safety building should result in the elimination of five existing on-site parking spaces. “These spaces can be accommodated within the surplus spaces available in the Central/Science Campus Overall Parking Plan. The parking that remains in the project area will be reconfigured.”
He also wrote that the chemical safety building project will not expand the university’s existing student body, nor will it result in the addition of any new faculty or employees.
