Thomas Breen Photo
240 Greene St.
A developer Tuesday night unveiled details of a plan to turn three vacant Wooster Square properties into 23 luxury apartments, and heard some pushback about the market prices.
The three buildings have sat abandoned for years as the St. Michael’s Church struggled to sell them. The church nearly sold the properties to Mandy Management in 2018, until the landlord faced backlash from neighbors and ultimately pulled out of the plan. Last April, Greene Street Holdings successfully acquired the properties and is now planning to move ahead with an apartment conversion plan.
Michael Massimino and Caleb Hamel present to neighbors.
Developer Michael Massimino of Mass Development, which represents Greene Street Holdings, presented site plans for the three properties at the Downtown Wooster Square Community Management Team’s monthly meeting in City Hall. Massimino’s attorney, Caleb Hamel of Susman, Duffy, and Segaloff, stood beside him as he explained floor plans and design ideas to the room.
Among the exterior changes to the properties, Massimino plans to add a second floor to the southern component of the building at 234 Greene St. The additional story will feature windows of the same size and horizontal position as the windows on the first floor, and will be covered in wooden clapboard siding.
On the first floor of 240 Greene, architects plan to preserve the gymnasium.
Massimino, who is working with Guilford-based architect John Cruet Jr., plans to preserve a gymnasium currently existing in the building, which would function as a communal gym for residents of the apartment complex.
As of now, 234 Greene is set to comprise six two-bedroom apartments and two one-bedroom apartments. 240 Greene will have one three-bedroom apartment, five two-bedroom apartments, and two one-bedroom apartments. And 250 Greene will consist of seven two-bedroom apartments.
Massimino said that on average, apartments would range from 700 to 800 square feet. He estimated that a one-bedroom apartment would go for about $1,600-$1,800 a month.
“That’s a lot to ask,” said Carmen Mendez, the Livable City Initiative’s Downtown-Wooster Square neighborhood specialist.
Massimino defended that price range, saying that those numbers make sense given the market in Wooster Square. He added that amenities within the building, such as off-street parking for residents, justify that rent.
Massimino is scheduled to present the site plan next month before the City Plan Commission . He will also seek local approval from the Historic District Commission.
A sketch of plans for 234 Greene Street.
I used to hope that developing more apartment buildings would act to stabilize rents in New Haven but that doesn't seem to be the case. This is how rents go up in New Haven. A developer builds a new apartment buildings and asks for rents above the prevailing market rent. Then, other landlords follow suit by raising their rents and causing tenants to move to other neighborhoods or even out of New Haven. Meanwhile, the landlord of the new building may offer a free month of rent to entice prospective tenants. Once the year is up, the rent is back up to market and the tenants are faced with a large rent increase and the cycle repeats.