On a day when construction at 360 State reached new heights, architect Bruce Becker dropped some hints about what’s in store back on the ground.
Construction workers at the new 32-story mixed-use tower going up at State and Chapel streets hoisted their crane on Tuesday to what will be its highest point.
That evening Becker (pictured), the developer behind the project, told a roomful of neighbors that he is nearing a deal with a large grocery store company that will open a branch at the base of 360 State.
Becker declined to name the company, which has yet to sign a lease.
“It’s like a Whole Foods, but not as expensive as a Whole Foods,” he said. He later added that the parent company’s name is well-known, but that the store at 360 State will have a different name.
Becker’s hint came at the monthly meeting of the Downtown-Wooster Square Community Management Team, which gathered at 6 p.m. in City Hall’s Meeting Room Two. Over 30 people filled the room to hear Becker’s presentation about progress and plans for what will become the state’s largest apartment tower.
“Obviously it’s a massive project,” Becker began. When it’s completed next year, 360 State’s 32 stories will include 500 apartments, a 500-space parking garage, and thousands of square feet of retail space. Becker touted the green credentials of the building, which he said will qualify for LEED Platinum, the highest level of environmental certification.
The project will bring 1,000 new residents into downtown, said Becker. “That’s good news for downtown businesses.”
Discussing the pace of construction, Becker had nothing but good news. “It’s going like clockwork,” he said. “They’re building one floor every four-and-a-half days, which is pretty outstanding progress.” He estimated that construction is about “33 percent through.”
As part of his the deal with the city, Becker said that his firm had agreed to recruit a grocery store to occupy a large first-floor retail space at 360 State. “The city recognizes that quality of life would be greatly enhanced by having a full-service grocery store.”
Trader Joe’s was Becker’s first choice, and he designed the 14,000-square-foot space with that company in mind, he said. Unfortunately, Trader Joe turned down the offer. So did Whole Foods.
But another grocery store has emerged. “I can’t give out the name,” Becker said. He added that the store is “better suited to the price point” of the area. It’s less expensive than a Whole Foods, he said.
While a lease has not yet been signed, Becker said that project plans are being revised to accommodate the mystery grocery store, which needs a space more than twice as big as the 14,000 squarefoot spot set aside. The plans have been changed slightly so that the retail space on the corner of Chapel and Orange Streets will be added to the grocery store space.
Becker said that he had hoped that the corner space would have been occupied by an Apple store, but he couldn’t even get Apple to return phone calls. “The consensus in the retail community is they don’t realize how far New Haven has come,” Becker said.
He said that he intends to have a lease signed with the grocery store by Thanksgiving. The store will employ 140 workers and the company will spend “millions and millions of dollars” building out the space. Although he “can’t declare success yet,” Becker said, he hopes to have the store open by August.
“They’re doing something different,” Becker said of the grocery store company. “It’s a new prototype for a grocery store you would recognize. They don’t normally do downtown stores … You could almost describe it as a larger Trader Joe’s.”
Green Power
Becker’s plans to have the building be LEED Platinum certified have come a steps closer to fruition with the passage of Green Energy Tax Credits in the state budget.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell recently signed a bill that included up to $25 million in total tax credits statewide or environmentally friendly buildings. Becker is planning on cashing in on the credits for 360 State.
“It’s going to allow us to do what we intended to do,” he said. To get the LEED Platinum certification, 360 State will include 30 different green technologies, like heat recovery devices on the building’s mechanical equipment, Becker said. Platinum certification will mean spending more money now, but bigger tax credits later, he said.
“We have to get interim financing,” he said. “We still have to go over a lot of hurdles, but at least now there’s a path.”
Onward and Upward
Hours before Becker’s presentation, construction workers and city officials celebrated a milestone at 360 State Street, as the building’s enormous crane moved slowly to the highest position it will occupy.
With the addition of six new support sections on Monday and Tuesday, workers raised the construction crane at 360 State by 120 feet. At its new altitude, the crane is now positioned to hoist girders into place for the building’s final 10 stories.
Mayor John DeStefano and City Hall development officials joined Michael Moore (at right in photo), a senior supervisor for Suffolk Construction, at the corner of Orange and Chapel Streets on Tuesday afternoon. The mayor squinted up at the big red crane as he peppered Moore with questions.
Moore explained that the crane moves up by using hydraulic jacks to raise it while a 19-foot tall support section is pushed into place. By 3 p.m. on Tuesday, workers had put three sections in place and were working on a fourth. The remaining two sections (pictured) sat on the ground near the base of the crane.
It’s a very slow process. “It’s like watching paint dry,” quipped building inspector Andy Rizzo.
Moore said that it takes a team of eight to move the crane up. The mayor asked where the workers are from. “Most of the guys up there are right from here,” Moore said.
The crane, a Manitowoc Potain, weighs 68,000 pounds, Moore told DeStefano. When all the sections are added, the crane operator will be sitting 120 feet higher than he was. “His seat will be at 370 feet,” Moore said.
The building stops going up while the crane is being hoisted higher, Moore said. “We’ll be back in erection mode by tomorrow,” he said.
When completed, 360 State will be 327 feet high, making it the second tallest building in the city, after the downtown financial center building. 360 State, 32 stories, will have four more floors than that building, but have less total height.
Moore predicted that 360 State will be completely finished by Dec. 2010. But suites may be completed for modeling as early as midsummer, he said.
Moore led a hard-hatted mayor and a handful of other guests on a brief visit inside the building, taking the “hoist” or construction elevator up to the seventh floor, the highest floor that is closed in. The mayor took a moment to look at the view of Chapel Street before heading back down.
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I'm not frequently cynical. But. What does it tell us that Trader Joes and Whole Foods declined to take part in the financial experiment?