Markeshia Ricks Photo
Could this be the future home of a midsize music venue?
Dozens of people hoping to create the next big thing in the home of the former Boppper’s nightclub got a chance to tour the space as they prepare bids to be the next lessee.
The empty 9,509 space — also once the home of the 1970s vintage Clarence’s Court Jester jazz club; and more recently Alchemy and Elevate — is at the foot of the Crown Street Parking Garage, which encompasses 215 and 239 Crown St. and 223 College St. in June.
The city and the Parking Authority are now accepting bids from people competing to open a new performance venue and/or restaurant there. They hosted a tour of the space Thursday for people interested in submitting bids. Forty-five people showed up.
“The only thing that’s probably salvageable in there is the sprinkler system and it probably leaks,” observed Keith Mahler of the College Street Music Hall, one of the organizations vying to open a concert hall in the space to accommodate acts too big for nearby nightclubs and too small for CSMH or the Shubert.
College Street Music Hall’s Keith Mahler, left, took the tour with Hausladen, at right.
The New Haven Parking Authority and the city put out a request for proposals back in May seeking “a redeveloper who will propose to adapt and renovate the property … for a use that complements nearby retail, restaurant, residential, entertainment/recreational, and other uses in the surrounding Downtown commercial district.” (Read more about that here.)
Interested bidders have until 3 p.m. Aug. 23 to submit their response to the RFP. Thursday was the first time that any potential bidders for the space got a chance to give it a good once over.
Representatives from the Shubert Theatre, the College Street Music Hall, and Long Wharf Theatre were among those who showed up to take a look-see. Those organizations were already known to be interested in creating a performance space there. There were also some faces parking authority Director Doug Hausladen didn’t recognize among the 45 people passing through Thursday.
The inside of just the College Street facing front of the space …
The RFP as potential lessees to think dollars and cents, but also demonstrate that they have a vision for the “highest and best use” of the space, including adding something that might not already exist Downtown or would complement what does exist.
… is going to need some work.
“The last time this was rented that was a two-story strip mall, with a liquor store on the corner and TK Wings in a giant surface parking lot,” he said, pointing to where the new Jack’s Bar & Steakhouse sits below several floors of apartments. A Mexican restaurant used to sit at the corner a surface parking lot that is now home to Co-Op High School.
“The entire Crown Street corridor is wildly different than when this was rented the last time,” Hausladen said.
Given that it took some time for the city to gain possession of the space, the city pushed back the deadlines for responses to the RFP. Now that it has possession of the space, Hausladen said, the authority has made safety improvements inside the garage and will make some cosmetic improvements on the outside of the property. Bright orange paint and purple trim will be traded for something a bit tamer. The windows also will be made to allow people to see inside and out.
But anyone looking to lease the space should be ready to take on the cost of overhauling the space and bringing it up to code. Whoever rents it will be responsible for cleaning it out and getting rid of all the things that were left in it.
Mahler, who oversaw the renovation and management of the now-thriving College Street Music Hall across the street, noted that it would be costly space to rehab. He said that College Street wouldn’t make any official statements about what its proposal before submitting it.
Hausladen said he’s not on the review committee, but he’s excited to see the responses to the RFP, noting that whatever respondents come up with that they must demonstrate that they understand the importance of having a wide array of offerings Downtown.
Hausladen finds a relic still in the space.
“In a true downtown, if we want it to all happen here,” Hausladen said, “we need a place for people to meet each other on the dance floor. You need a place for young people and people a little older than young to go, a place for singles to go, a place for couples to go.
“People should think about what elements are missing from downtown that will support this residential unit across the street and the restaurants here plus these entertainment venues,” he added.
It's all been down hill since Boppers!