Yale Ordered To Demolish Ex-Pawn Shop

What a shame! Looks like it has strong bones, but I'm sure the interior is a wreck after years of neglect.

Post-demolition, what are Yale's plans for the vacant lot?

Will they also be tearing down the 166 York Street, (Noodle House), building they also bought from Pike? Do they intend to build more tax-free apartments?

I hope that Yale demolishes those and puts up a much larger building on the site.

The Yale retail/commercial spaces all pay heavy taxes to the city, and then there's also the PILOT revenue, impacts from having more employees downtown, etc.

It's a shame to lose this building, it had such a nice scale and street presence on this site. One of my favorite spaces in the city is the courtyard/patio at Book Trader and the side wall enclosed that space quite nicely.

I assume Yale is planning something big here, maybe a development with this lot and the York Street building plus the demolition of the York garage? Do they own the building on the corner of chapel and york? Where the Thai place used to be and the clothing store that looks like it is closing up shop?

Unacceptable.

That building always reminds me of the tragedy of the firefighter , Tom Kelly, who was severely injured in a fall there. Replacing it is a good idea. I hope they include a plaque or other memorial at the site.

I had the opportunity to tour the interior of this building several times within the past two years, and can unequivocally confirm that the structure and roof have suffered mightily from decades of exposure to the elements, not to mention the original fire damage from 1992. With the right owner, this building could have been saved, but the cost of simply stabilizing the existing masonry walls and interior steel framing would have run into the millions.

As for future plans, I believe Yale now owns the entire corner block of York/Chapel, from 1142 Chapel to the York Street Garage. Roughly, that corner constitutes an 18,000 SF development parcel, which is about the same footprint as the School of Architecture across Chapel. Seems like Yale's purchase of 1142 Chapel is an ideal land bank strategy for future campus expansion, should the need ever arise.

Sad. The question would be, "who owned the building after the fire?" Did the owner at the time have fire insurance? Demolition by neglect. Yale will knock it down and another piece of property will come off the tax list. New Haven is disappearing piece by piece.

It's amazing how many unique historic buildings the City of New Haven has demanded be torn down because they're "structurally unsound and could collapse at any time." In the meantime, dozens of burnt out architecturally and historically insignificant houses pose a greater risk to their neighborhoods by being overlooked by the city. It seems commercial structures are on the teardown list quicker than residential. I hope the Chapel Street facade on this building can be saved.

Why did Turcio only now order the building to be demolished? That derelict property has a nice facade, but it has been deteriorating for decades. Isn't there any kind of inspection when a building changes hands, like three years ago? Did Pike know it was going to condemned before they sold it?

TuffTony,

From what I remember from perusing the land records years ago -- This property was originally 'The New Haven Savings Bank'. Around 1963, the NHSB moved and the building was 'quit claimed' to the Bank President. It stayed in his 'family' (with a Woodbridge address) from then until Pike bought it up a few years ago.

Ignatius,

I too wonder what the 'trigger' was for this sudden demolition notice. It's not like a 'cornice' dropped onto a pedestrian-filled sidewalk, as happened on lower Chapel a few years back.

Another "demolition by neglect"?

The information I have on this building -- aided by student research -- is that it was built in 1923 as the "Professional Building" and possibly housed doctors offices. It was designed by the venerable New Haven architecture firm of Brown & Von Beren, prolific contributors to the urban scene.

The building is made of brick (and other commenters have noted that there was metal interior framing) but the entire facade was made of pre-cast concrete panels patented by the Dextone Company. It's meant to look like stone. It was given a "crandalled" finish, creating a pebbly appearance to accentuate the stone-like qualities, an example of modern materials used to create historicist effects. The most notable feature may be the simple pediment that frames the entry, supported by two exaggerated brackets. The Professional Building represented an elegant, understated presence on Chapel Street that was rapidly converting to a commercial corridor. The first floor windows have been altered.

Like other sentimental preservationists, I lament the loss of a little gem like this one that contributes -- in its own, small way -- to a sense of place that is rapidly being lost (on Crown Street, for example) or commodified (the "Graduate" hotel). The argument to preserve this particular building, however, is thin, and the City has a legitimate public interest in condemning unsafe environments. It's terrible to learn of the human sacrifice in efforts to save the building from fire. But this structure also represents an epidemic of "demolition by neglect" that should be curbed. This is the broader lesson, I believe, that should be drawn from this story; and thank you, Tom, for your reporting.

I would not put it past Yale to have intensionally sat on their site ownings to allow them to become derelict so that they could tear them down only to rebuild 4x the height etc. Good locations and shameful to allow the architectural history to deteriorate. Now they can double up and still not pay taxes on prime property in prime locations. Good luck residents of New Haven...more taxes for you all.

Elihu,

Let's see who 'benefits' from an 'end of year' demolition contract....
A decade or so back, I coined the term 'the wrecking ball economy' for a reason!

More concerning: Is Yale demolishing one of those beautiful houses along Trumbull Street near Prospect?

This is just tragic. I've always loved this building. I'm no architect but I'm sure it was a bank before it was a pawn shop. You can't even respect the poor buildings history. sigh
Anyway, an empty building is useless to this town. We need all the business tax revenue it can generate. There are lots of services needed in this area and I hope that site doesn't become a revolving site like that at the corner of York and Broadway.

Stability needs to be one of the goals.

Nobody really believes this; do they? NH tell Yale what to do?? I doubt it; esp our feckless Bldg Dept and Housing Coders. How long did it take them to find THE JUNGLE deplorable??? When they were told to!!!