Neuro Plan Advances; Parking Questioned

Yale New Haven Hospital’s planned new neuroscience center and renovated St. Raphael campus should result in $1 billion of economic activity over the coming five years, path-breaking research and medical care for victims of strokes and Parkinson’s Disease and ALS for many years after that — and a roughly 1,000-space increase to the campus’s current parking demand.

The hospital revealed those details as it won a handful of recommendations for regulatory approvals it needs before beginning construction on the mammoth new project next summer.

At the most recent regular monthly City Plan Commission meeting in the basement meeting room of the municipal office building at 200 Orange St., commissioners voted 4 – 1 in support of each of the hospital’s latest applications regarding the prospective new $838 million neuroscience center it plans to build in the Dwight and West River neighborhoods.

The commissioners at the meeting this past Wednesday night recommended that the Board of Alders approve a zoning ordinance text and map amendment to Planned Development District (PDD) 45 to include existing St. Raphael campus parcels on Chapel Street, Orchard Street, and George Street.

They also recommended the alders approve an amendment to the Medical Area Overall Parking Plan (MAOPP) that would increase the total number of parking spaces included in the various medical area lots and garages used by YNHH, the Yale School of Medicine, and the Connecticut Mental Health Center from 12,205 spaces to 12,277 spaces.

And they recommended that alders sign the licenses and easements necessary to allow YNHH to build a new pedestrian bridge over Orchard Street connecting medical buildings a planned new garage.

All of these items will next be discussed at a public hearing at City Hall on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. before the Joint Community Development-Legislation Committee of the Board of Alders.

While commissioners and several members of the public frequently expressed concerns over the course of the night about parking, and in particular about how the proposed construction of a new parking garage and the expansion of an existing parking garage on Orchard Street will affect traffic flow and quality of life in the neighborhood, the project’s backers time and again stressed their commitment to a community-involved planning process. They’ve been making the rounds of all of the area management team, they said, and plan to continue to stay in touch over the course of the expected five-plus year construction period.

Plus, they said, this project is a one-in-a-generation opportunity to make New Haven an epicenter for neurological research and medical care.

“We are proud of this project and proud to present it in full partnership with the City of New Haven,” said YNHH Senior Vice President Operations Michael Holmes.

$1 Billion Economic Boost

Joined by Shepley Bulfinch architect Andre Kamili, YNHH Vice President Facilities Design Stephen Carbery, and Milford attorney John Knuff, Holmes said the hospital has already invested plenty into the St. Raphael campus since acquiring it in 2012.

“We have built new patient beds for the elderly,” he said. ​“We have invested in new image and operating rooms. We have upgraded campus infrastructure. And, most recently, we have added a new musculoskeletal surgical center.”

Between the York Street and St. Raphael campuses, he said, YNHH has roughly 1,600 patient beds in New Haven, making it the fourth largest hospital in the country.

This planned neuroscience center project, he said, represents the hospitals next major stage of investment its Dwight/West River hospital campus.

“This is a new investment in the St. Raphael campus that will be constructed entirely on the existing footprint,” he said. The hospital is not acquiring any new land or expanding beyond the bounds of its current campus.

It does, however, plan on building quite a few new structures, moving over patient beds from York Street, expanding the campus’s existing Emergency Department, and building a new garage and renovating and existing garage.

The main construction project is the neuroscience center planned for the northeast corner of Sherman Avenue and George Street.

“It’s one building with two structured above a shared three-level podium,” Carbery said. The proposed Sherman Avenue structure will be eight stories high, and will contain two stories of underground parking. The proposed McGivney structure, he said, will be seven stories high and will be built above the existing McGivney Advanced Surgery Center.

As for parking, YNHH plans to build a new garage atop the open lot currently at the corner of Orchard Street and George Street. And it plans on expanding the hospital’s current Orchard Street garage to increase capacity.

The hospital has conducted a traffic study by Tighe and Bond, he said, which recommends that the hospital install four new traffic lights and undertake a number of other intersection improvements. ​“With the new signals and other improvements the current levels of service will be maintained on campus,” he said.

This project will also see the demolition of several existing structures, he said, including the convent building at 120 Sherman Ave., the pastoral care building at 125 Sherman Ave., and what is known as the childcare building at 131 Sherman Ave. All of the programming in those current buildings will be relocated, he said.

And the hospital has done an historic inventory of what’s slated to be demolished. ​“Any and all items of historic interest will be offered to any interested parties at no cost,” he said.

Holmes said that a recent Connecticut Economic Research Center study estimated that this project should generate around $1 billion in economic activity and 1,000 jobs over the course of construction. Around $300 million of that economic boost should be centered in New Haven, he said.

“What’s your timeline?” City Plan Commission Chair Ed Mattison asked.

Carbery said the hospital hopes to start the abatement and demolition process next summer, and then have the new hospital buildings open and occupied by late 2023 or early 2024.

Expected 1,000-Space Increase

After the YNHH crew finished itspresentation, City Plan Commission Alternate Elias Estabrook zeroed in on a part of the proposal that the applicant had so far declined to flesh out: Parking.

“Can you describe the net increase in parking?” he asked. How many spaces, and where will they be?

Knuff pointed out that the proposed PDD updates includes new parking ratios that, he said, are ​“entirely consistent with your current regulations” for hospitals and similar uses.

Those proposed new parking ratios are one space per four patient beds, one space per doctor, one space per three employees, and two spaces per outpatient doctor. For the Grimes Center, the proposed ratios are one per six patient beds, one per doctor, and one per four employees.

The PDD currently imposes a parking cap of 1,004 for the hospital and 167 for the Grimes Center.

Knuff promised that more details on the actual number of spaces to be included in the project would be provided during the City Plan Commission’s site plan review for this project. But that won’t happen until after the alders sign off on the proposed PDD and MAOPP amendments.

City Plan Commissioner and Westville Alder Adam Marchand followed up with his own series of parking questions, noting that YNHH will likely need to have a more specific answer by the time it presents these proposed amendments to the aldermanic Legislation Committee next month or in January.

Based on the proposed MAOPP, Marchand said, the total number of eligible parking spaces in the medical region is slated to increase from 12,205 to 12,277.

That likely takes into account the expected loss of spaces at the former Coliseum siteand Sherman/Tyler lots to prospective future developments, he said. Looking at the materials presented Wednesday night, he could not tell what the actual number of new parking spaces planned for the St. Raphael campus is.

He also pointed out that the revised MAOPP indicates that there are currently 10,883 parking permits for eligible spaces, meaning that there is a bit more available supply than current demand.

“Does that net increase of 72 parking spaces in the MAOPP meet on its own the incremental increase in doctors and patient beds?” he asked.

Yes, Knuff said. And, again, the details will be presented by the time this project comes to site plan review.

Holmes had a bit better of an estimate regarding how the parking demand will increase because of this project.

“Very generally,” he said, ​“I can tell you that the parking demand will increase by about 1,000 spaces.”

“As Oil And Gas Was For Houston 100 Years Ago”

Members of the public who came out to testify on the matter had a mix of ebullient, cautiously optimistic, and skeptical comments on the project. The latter focused almost exclusively on parking and traffic.

“Eds and meds for us is the same as oil and gas was for Houston 100 years ago,” said Webster Bank Regional President Jeff Klaus (pictured). ​“But it’s not a dirty industry.”

New Haven is fortunate to get such a massive investment of money and intellect from one of its two critical companies, he said. He offered ​“brief, early, and unequivocal support for this project.”

West River Neighborhood Services Corporation President Virginia Spell (pictured) also threw her support behind the project. She applauded the hospital for being so diligent about visiting the community management teams and various neighborhood groups and listening to and incorporating resident feedback.

“They’ve been very inclusive with us,” she said. ​“And very open.”

This project may result in a bit of an inconvenience by adding more traffic and parking to the area, she said. ​“But that’s a part of growth.”

Linda Townsend (pictured), representing the Greater Dwight Development Corporation, was similarly supporting — and a little more cautious about the car impact.

“I just think it’s going to be a nightmare on Orchard Street,” she said about the already congested cross-street.

But the hospital has been very open so far, and she hopes that they will continue to be so as the project moves forward, she said.

New Haven Urban Design League President Anstress Farwell (pictured) urged the commissioners to table the three applications until they get more details on the parking garages being built.

“We don’t really have a sense of the whole context,” with the hospital eagerly sharing details about the size and look of the medical buildings, but so far being reticent about parking, she said.

City Plan Commission Vice-Chair Leslie Radcliffe cast the sole dissenting vote against recommending approval of the three applications. She also moved to table them until the commission gets more details on parking in particular.

Her colleagues on the board voted to move the process forward. They noted that the hospital will need more and better answers around parking at its aldermanic Legislation Committee public hearing as well as at subsequent site plan reviews.

“I do think there will be amply opportunity for the community to weigh in,” Marchand said.