nothin Deal Sets Pricetag, Concessions To Build In… | New Haven Independent

Deal Sets Pricetag, Concessions To Build In Hill

Paul Bass Photo

Salvatore meeting with neighbors about the plan.

A developer would pay the city $1.25 million for land in the Hill where he hopes to build 140 apartments as well as stores and offices, according to an agreement that comes before the Board of Alders Monday night.

Developer Randy Salvatore struck the deal with the Harp administration to build on a stretch of surface parking lots and at two abandoned schools in an amoeba-shaped district bounded by Church Street South, Amistad Street, Cedar Street, Congress Avenue, College Street, and South Frontage Road.

New Haven has been calling the broader area there Hill to Downtown,” with hopes of reviving a neighborhood decimated by mid-20th century urban renewal into a pedestrian-friendly bridge between the train station and Yale’s medical complex.

Under the proposed deal submitted to the alders, New Haven would rezone the land in question from a BA to a BD‑3 district, accommodating taller buildings (up to 70 feet) and denser development, including high-tech and medical and research uses. Salvatore would renovate the Prince School Annex on Prince Street into 40 apartments; tear down the Welch Annex and build 100-plus apartments in a new building across from Amistad Park, including first-floor retail or restaurants; put up another commercial/medical office and/or bioscience lab” building on Lafayette Street and at the triangular junction of Washington and Congress avenues; and build a commercial office, bio-science, laboratory, medical office” and garage (“structured parking”) at 9 Tower Lane across Church Street South.

All by 2023, with the first portions envisioned no later than 2019.” The city has estimated the total building cost at over $100 million. Salvatore said he doesn’t yet have an estimated construction cost (or a name) for the project.

Way back in 1989 New Haven thought it had found a developer (John Schnip) to rebuild this area, but the project never materialized. The land has remained undeveloped.

Now Salvatore — who built the new Novella project at the corner of Chapel and Howe — has teamed up with Cliff Winkel, a developer who inherited the rights to buy the land from the city, to take on this project. Then they renegotiated the original development and land disposition agreement with the city, producing the proposed deal now before alders for approval.

Affected properties, with suggested uses, highlighted.

They described the broad outlines of the project to a skeptical Hill audience last month. The documents submitted to the board — including an amended development and land disposition agreement, transfer of purchase rights to the Salvatore-Winkel team, and the zoning changes — offer new details of terms the city negotiated with Salvatore. In addition to the zoning change, the terms include:

• The developer has now agreed to pay for cleaning up the properties and demolishing one of the two schools there. That cost, though comes out of …
• … the purchase price. The two sides said they took the fair market value price of the property, then subtracted those clean-up and demolition costs, to arrive at the joint $1.25 million ($725,000 for one parcel, $500,000 for the other). Salvatore said the clean-up costs will run in the seven figures.” City Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson estimated that asbestos and lead paint removal would reach $800,000 and demolition, $300,000. He said the city obtained independent appraisals for the land.
• The developer will include at least 10 percent affordable housing in the project — assuming” the city helps him find government assistance to build units costing $125,000 a piece. Salvatore said he’s open to having some of those units house families being moved long-term from the Church Street South housing complex.
• The developer will pay for streetscape, lighting and other public improvements directly within the project area.
• The developer will help get a new version of the old not-for-profit Hill Development Corporation off the ground. The agreement states that the help may include providing technical assistance, mentoring, training, legal assistance and other forms of support in entity formation, selection of sites for development, obtaining financing and bonding for development, creating budgets, selecting and overseeing the construction of developments and marketing projects.” Nemerson said in an interview that the city considers it important that a group of Hill stakeholders” be in place to help guide and participate in development as building goes on there.
• The developer will consult with New Haven Works to help New Haveners find permanent jobs in the district; and hold fairs to appraise them of opportunities for construction work and small-business supplier contracts.
• The project will include bike-storage and showering facilities.

City Creates New Funds

In the deal the city also commits to plowing the $1.25 million back into economic development, half of it in the neighborhood.

The city put the money into two newly created funds. One fund’s purpose, as described by the new land disposition agreement: enhancing and maintaining the benefits to be provided by the Project used to further the initiatives and the improvements described in the Community Plan.”

Nemerson was asked what those words mean. He said they mean the money would go into economic development and public improvement in parts of the Hill near the project.

The other fund’s stated purpose: the maintenance of the Streetscape Improvements and for other economic development purposes.”

Nemerson was asked what those words mean, too — since the developer agreed to make streetscape improvements. Nemerson said the money would support improvement nearby, and economic development in general in New Haven, not necessarily in the Hill.

Neighbors Skeptical

Neighbors and preservationists questioned Salvatore and city and Economic Development Corproration (EDC) officials when they unveiled the plan at an Aug. 19 community meeting at the Wilson Branch Library. (Read all about that here.)

One objection: The plans were vague. Officials didn’t even bring hand-outs with drawings or details. Salvatore said that’s because the project is still a work in progress; he said he wants to hear more from the community before deciding on more details. We deserve to have something to go back home [and review]. These words really mean nothing,” neighbor Patty Newton-Foster (pictured) said at the meeting.

Another objection, from Urban Design League’s Anstress Farwell: That a garage would favor cars rather than promote true transit-oriented development” and that allowing taller buildings would harm the scale of the neighborhood. Officials responded — and the new documents affirm — that the taller buildings would rise in the portion of the project closer to downtown, not the parts closer to residential Hill streets.

On Monday Farwell added another concern: that the proposed deal has come to the Board of Alders without first coming before community management teams. She argued that this puts, in big red letters, Done Deal, and None of Your Business’ on every page of the DLDA and zoning documents. It’s a problematic situation when city executives complain that the CMTs aren’t doing their job, while at the same time bypassing constructive engagement with them. One way to make community management teams function better is to have city departments respect their role and make their participation meaningful. This means consulting with them from the beginning, and giving people accurate and pertinent information to review.”

Salvatore said Monday that he considers this deal not a detailed plan for the development, but rather a framework of zoning changes and promised community benefits that will enable him to proceed with planning. He said he plans to meet with neighbors about what he’ll build and where.

We don’t even know what we’re going to build yet,” he said. There’s a lot more community dialogue” that needs to take place.

We still need to draw up conceptual plans. We’re still very far from that part of it,” he continued. If we get this approved, we can move quickly.”

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