West River Builders Land Public $ For 56 Apts

The City receives land from the State for $1, gives it to non-profits or developers, grants tax breaks, and then complains that most of its land and property are not taxable. Rinse and repeat.

No idea why anyone would think this plot of land would be a great place for housing; it's surrounded by major thoroughfares that support 25,000 - 30,000 cars per day.

$25 million for 56 apartments is almost $450,000 per apartment. It's just an apartment. Most of the high end apartments turned condos downtown sell for that number. Why don't we just buy and rehab single family homes in the area and rent them out for the same rate. It would be cheaper.
It's also a horrible use of a prime piece of undeveloped land.

Love to see it, and maybe one day, some of the severed roads can be stitched back to N and S Frontage roads. The 16 Miller address confused me at first, since Miller St is to the north, but after looking at some historical maps, I saw that Miller St used to run south much further until our past city and state leaders decided to completely obliterate a community in favor of ramming cars through it. And then it never even happened, leaving us with vacant land and a barrier between neighborhoods. One block at a time, we will rebuild and try to right these past wrongs.

Excellent!

Vacant Land ===> Homes for Humans

@ mikewestpark: Why don't we just buy and rehab single family homes in the area and rent them out for the same rate.

Because then the politically connected don't get a chance to play monopoly with the taxpayer's money and the politico's don't get a headline and photo op.

"This is really a big step in putting the community back on this parcel that was torn down decades ago" during Urban Renewal, Smarr said. "We think it will do a lot for affordable housing, and a lot for the City of New Haven in connecting downtown" to West River and the Hill.

Again.Affordable housing for who.Are they taking section 8?

One has to wonder whether such a project which needs massive amounts of federal, state and local welfare payments, should even be built. New Haven can't afford a free ride. This is just one of the many free rides the alders have been handing out across the last two years and then out of the other side of their mouth, moaning about erosion of the tax base.

The other great irony or hypocrisy - is that this is the first housing to be built on this strip that was supposed to "stitch" the neighborhood back together. It's been a pretty bad stitch. Anybody know how much tax money is coming in from all that development? Winstanley still not paying his fair share; got a non profit or two - a hotel owned by Yale I believe.

This land has been vacant for decades and now it will provide taxes, affordable units, clubhouse, a community center, a coffee shop/bakery, parking, a playground, and a gazebo, and reconnect the Hill to the Dwight and West River neighborhoods and heal the scar that was formed when the "Route 34 Highway to nowhere" razed and destroyed communities. I am thrilled that the ugliest and most isolating "urban renewal" project in the city will finally be reversed and we will have a vibrant, dense and walkable community there once again. I sincerely hope they will put in lots of secure bicycle storage, and pressure the city, state of CT, and CT transit to put in bus stops and bus shelters, traffic calming measures, dedicated bike lanes and bike left turn boxes, raised crosswalks and more crosswalks and crossing lights to accommodate all abilities, speed and red light cameras to stop the bad driving behavior that has killed several people crossing the streets from the highway entrances and exits to Ella Grasso Blvd, and from the Hill to Dwight, West River, Long Wharf and Downtown. They also should pressure the State and city to put in more traffic calming and safe pedestrian crossing across Ella Grasso Blvd so pedestrians and bike riders and disabled persons can safely cross to get to other neighborhoods, the West River and Edgewood parks, the Haven in West Haven when it gets built, and the Yale Athletic fields and the new concert venue at the former Tennis Center. The increase in scattered units affordable housing and walkability and bikeability will make this city and its residents thrive.

@ mikewestpark: Why don't we just buy and rehab single family homes in the area and rent them out for the same rate.

Part B Better to keep residents as renters attached to the nipple of gov't instead of as homeowners who will pay taxes and demand services and accountability.

The process forming this proposal and the inclusion of the neighbors is extremely laudable and a model for other parts of our community to follow. Unfortunately, it seems that the experts in this planning process were not doing their job. The proposed plan does not knit the community back together just by filling in that blank space. It is still a 3 block long barrier with no connections except at Ella Grasso and Evergreen. And at Evergreen, there is no way to cross the busy Rt. 34 connector. Maybe we need to better define what knit means because this does not look like the fabric has been woven together. Additionally, it looks like all the apartments either face the "noisy at all hours" Rt 34, or inward to a desolate parking lot. Not quite sure where the park is either. I don't think this seems like an equitable design for low income housing. Would anyone want to live here if this was market rate. I believe that the experts should provide existing examples of similar developments under similar conditions to prove that this is actually an improvement to the community. Otherwise take this energy and find a better, more suitable site.