55 Church: bio-ready.
A downtown landlord won city permission to convert an eight-story office building into new laboratory and research space, to meet what he and his attorney described as a glut of biotech companies searching for a home in a city still lacking in labs.
The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) granted that unanimous approval Tuesday night during the board’s latest monthly meeting. The four-hour virtual meeting took place online via Zoom.
Zoning commissioners unanimously backed an application by 45 – 55 Church Street LLC — a holding company controlled by downtown investor David Goldblum of The Hurley Group — for a use variance to permit a research or testing laboratory in excess of 2,000 square feet at 55 Church St.
The zoning relief approval allows Goldblum to convert the entire eight-story, 105,000 square-foot office building into new research and lab space if he so chooses.
Zoom
Tuesday night’s BZA virtual hearing.
According to local attorney Jim Segaloff, the need for such a large infusion of new lab space is already present in New Haven.
“The city is — maybe ‘desperately’ is too large a statement — but it is desperately in need of more lab space because there’s incredible demand,” he said Tuesday night.
“We’ve got a building that would fill up with a bunch of laboratories, tech research labs, that are in demand and want to come here, but there’s a regulations that says only 2,000 square feet” is permitted.
That zoning limitation is outdated and incomprehensible for the district in question, he said. The BD‑1 zone allows for a pumping station, a health club, schools, dental offices, lab supply companies. But only 2,000 square-feet of lab space per building.
“We’re stuck with this building,” Segaloff continued. “We’re prepared to spend a lot of money, provide a lot of employment in this city, and do a real justice to the city’s concerns.”
In his presentation Tuesday night and in a narrative submitted along with his client’s formal zoning relief application, Segaloff (pictured) outlined the local surge in biotech business in town.
“New Haven has become a regional destination for research and development, however there is not sufficient lab space available. The bio tech industry translates into jobs, growth for the community and its citizens and financial benefits for the City of New Haven. The market demand continues to grow.”
He cited such lab buildings as 300 George St., 40 – 60 Temple St., the Alexion building at 100 College St. (“which,” he wrote, “is about to have a two story addition”) and the planned new 10-story lab building at 101 College St.
“All of these facilities are located within walking distance of 55 Church Street,” he continued. “They are examples of very substantial companies
committing to New Haven for its research and lab testing needs.”
Segaloff wrote that other national and international companies are also looking to identify large buildings near Yale University, the Yale School of Medicine, and Yale New Haven Hospital to which to relocate.
“Research or testing laboratories operating in the building will transform the general area, creating a core of tenants and activities that are not presently existing,” he wrote about 55 Church St. in particular. “There will be an additional economic benefit to the City of New Haven resulting from the significant infrastructure upgrades and millions of dollars to be expended by the Applicant upon the granting of the variance.”
During his brief presentation Tuesday night, Goldblum (pictured) said that his company has been investing in New Haven since 1996. “We are very dedicated to New Haven,” he said. “I am really happy to continue’ investing in the city.
Local architect Jay Brotman (pictured) showed two slides describing how 55 Church would be a good fit for an office-to-lab conversion.
It’s eight stories tall, he noted, and “the roof is empty, allowing us to put in additional cooling equipment and exhaust fans” up top without disrupting the surrounding neighborhood.
Each floor is roughly 11,000 square feet, he said, and could accommodate two tenants each. “Laboratories today are about 50 percent office, 50 percent lab,” he said.
And the owner of the building is willing to put in the needed capital to make this planned for conversion a reality.
“This is an excellent location,” he said. “We’ve love to see some of these incubator labs staying in New Haven.”
The applicants did not mention the names of any particular companies looking to move into a converted 55 Church lab building during their presentation or in their formal application.
In a subsequent email response to a request for comment, Goldblum said that he does not have any specific companies lined up to fill the converted space. And when asked about how this will affect existing office tenants, he wrote, “It is a project that we plan to implement over time without displacing tenants under lease.”
Next step? Sell it or rent it to Yale and take the property off the grand list.