HUMPHREYS & PARTNERS LP
An early rendition of the 201 Munson St. plan.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Newhallville Alders Delphine Clyburn and Brenda Foskey-Hill express support for the project.
The quest to transform 13 acres in Newhallville from vacant industrial land into 385 new apartments won a crucial vote Thursday night despite last-minute efforts to delay the decision.
The vote came at the end of a public hearing of the Board of Alders Legislation Committee at City Hall about whether to approve a zone change for the land at Munson Street — from industrial to dense residential — sought by a California builder.
The alders voted to approve the change and send it along the full board for a final approval.
But first alders listened to two and a half hours of testimony from people who could agree on one point for sure — that it’s the Newhallville section of the city’s turn for a major development that will provide housing and jobs to a community that feels left out of the city’s recent boom.
But whether that development should come in the form of 385 mostly market-rate apartments and the 598 parking spaces that a developer wants to put on the former Winchester Repeating Arms site — and needs the zoning map amendment to make it possible— remained up for debate Thursday.
Nearly 30 people testified at the hearing. Some raised concerns about the density of the proposed development, the possible increase in traffic, and whether the developer would make a firmer commitment to hire local workers and increase the number of affordable apartments beyond 10 percent.
Ultimately, committee alders sided with the site’s new owners, Double A Development Partners LLC, and the alders and neighbors who have been meeting with them since they bought the property.
Double A Development requested the zoning change from the city to allow the parcel at 201 Munson St. to be rezoned from its existing Heavy Industry, or IH, designation to a General High-Density Residence District, or RH‑2. The City Plan Commission recommended approval of the request in November, though city staff indicated in its report that the zone change should be done within the context of the surrounding neighborhood, which is mostly single-family homes. The full Board of Alders is scheduled to vote in early January on whether to make the amendment a reality.
Double A developer Anderson, attorney Jim Segaloff, center, and Doug Gray.
Brett Anderson, a partner with Double A, told alders Thursday night that the RH‑2 zone would enable his firm to secure the required financing and start buildling while the economic cycle is in its favor. The project, which includes the cleanup of hazardous material on an old munitions site, is estimated to cost more than $75 million.
“We want to catch this one and start moving dirt,” Anderson said. “To start construction next year, we need to make this thing happen.”
East Rock Alder Jessica Holmes pressed the developers on why they are pursuing an RH‑2 zone change, rather than creation of a Planned Development District. A PDD would have allowed the city to create unique zoning requirements tailored to the Munson Street project. Many who raised concerns about the level of density the RH‑2 zone would allow and its impact on the community suggested that a PDD would be a better fit for the project.
Radcliffe.
Leslie Radcliffe, who serves on the City Plan Commission and voted in favor of the zone change last month, raised concerns about spot zoning Thursday. She argued a PDD would be a more suitable way to handle the zoning relief that the developer needs. She said alternative zoning options were not presented to commissioners before they made their decision and they weren’t allowed to actually consider the change in the context of the proposed development.
Anderson indicated that the choice to pursue an RH‑2 zone change was a matter of timing. Pursuing a PDD could delay approval of the project well into 2018.
Morrison.
Prior to the vote, Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison, noted that much of the opposition to the project Thursday was coming from people who don’t live in the area. She also noted that the developers spent months in discussions with alders and neighborhood groups leading to commitments to local hiring.
“They are constantly in the community,” she said. “Constantly having these conversations almost every two weeks, having different meetings. These developers are willing to work with the alders, the residents and anyone else who wants to sit down with them.
“It’s time for the Newhallville area to get some love in regards to development,” she said.
Is this real, or is it another "Live Work Learn Play" situation?
Newhallville is a great neighborhood, but it is interesting that a developer proposes to put $75 million into housing there instead of spending it on downtown where they can likely get higher rents.
$75m / 285 units = $263,000 per unit
compared to Spinnaker's Audubon Phase 1 as reported
$80m / 269 units = $297,000 per unit in phase 1 (phase 2 reported to cost another $80m to build another 230 units)
Not a huge difference and the Spinnaker also might be getting revenue from its large parking garage.