City of New Haven
The city plans to ditch a vacant lot (bottom right in photo) to facilitate the development of next phase of Corsair.
Thomas Breen pre-pandemic photo
City’s Carlos Eyzaguirre: Lot is currently empty and trashed.
Forty-four years after first acquiring a triangular sliver of highway-adjacent land from the state, the city plans to give it back — with the hopes that the parcel could soon sprout roughly 70 Upper State Street apartments as part of “Corsair II.”
City Economic Development Officer Carlos Eyzaguirre detailed those plans Wednesday night during the latest monthly City Plan Commission meeting, held online via Zoom.
The commissioners threw their unanimous support behind the city’s proposed disposal of a 0.06-acre parcel of land on Mill River Street to the state Department of Transportation.
Once back under the control of the state, Eyzaguirre said, the long-vacant lot would be included in a four parcel-deal between the state and Fairfield-based developer Post Road Residential, which plans to build upwards of 75 new apartments across the street from its current Corsair complex at 1050 State St.
“It’s something that the city is forced to maintain with regard to illegal dumping several times a year,” Eyzaguirre said about the vacant triangular Mill River Street lot as it exists today.
“Our goal here is to transfer this land back to the State of Connecticut,” and then have the state enter into an agreement with Post Road Residential that would “allow them to build an approximately 75-unit residential development.”
The proposed city land disposal now advances to the Board of Alders for a potential public hearing and final vote.
“The city is awaiting approval from the Board of Aldermen to have the property revert back to the State,” DOT spokesperson Kevin Nursick told the Independent by email when asked for comment on the proposed deal. “Once approved and transferred back to the state, the CTDOT will sell the property to the developer (who is the sole abutter) for fair market value.”
“For Highway Purposes Only” Since 1977
City of New Haven photo
The current vacant lot on Mill River St.
Eyzaguirre’s presentation to the City Plan Commission as well as documentation submitted to the alders by city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli in support of the proposed land transfer reveal that this 0.06-acre lot has been under city control for some time.
For more than 44 years and two months, to be precise, ever since the city first acquired it from the state DOT on Jan. 11, 1977.
When the city picked up that parcel for $100, the land came with a restriction: It could be used “for Highway Purposes only.”
The original land transfer deed also states that the state first acquired the parcel from the Eastern Elevator Company, Inc. in 1962 through a certificate of condemnation.
Plans for a planned new dev at 1041 State.
Piscitelli wrote to the alders that Post Road Residential and long-time East Rock resident and furniture maker Bryan Smallman, owner of 1041 State St, have proposed a new 60-to-70- unit residential development at the corner of State Street and Mill River Street, “essentially adding a second phase to the existing Corsair development across the street.”
The project requires the assembly of four different parcels of land, including the unnumbered, city-owned sliver lot.
“The City has no use (highway or otherwise) for the Property and believes that the best use of the Property would be for the purposes of the Project,” Piscitelli continued.
“However, due to the ‘for Highway Purposes only’ restriction, the proposal is to allow the CT DOT to take back the Property. The CT DOT has agreed to convey the Property to Post Road without the restriction for the purposes of this Project.”
The other three parcels needed for the proposed development are already owned by Post Road (vacant land just east of 1041 State State), Smallman (the existing building at 1041 State), and the State of Connecticut (the right of way along State Street in front of the property.)
The documentation states that the “For Highway Purposes only” restriction precludes the city from selling the land directly to Post Road without first going through the state DOT.
The entire new dev site, in red in bottom right.
Piscitelli’s notes also state that this second phase of Corsair will be a “Class B private market rate project as opposed to Class A for the initial Corsair development.
“This means rents will be below current market rates for many new apartments in New Haven as well as lower than rents in the first phase.”
He wrote that Post Road has been “made aware of the City’s interest in inclusionary zoning,” and has indicated that it is willing to include four “deeply affordable inclusionary units” in the proposed complex: two units at 30 percent of the area median income (AMI), and two at 50 percent AMI.
“Based on developer’s pro forma,” the aldermanic submission continues, “the proposed project will pay roughly 10x more than the current tax revenue on the properties and the overall economic impact will be much larger.”
I am very curious what scope of possibilities exist for land marked "For highway use only". Though I agree this is most likely the best utilization it sits poorly that we seem not to have found any path forward except allowing the state to make money off land that we have maintained.