It’s official: Plan for development of former New Haven Coliseum site submitted

Mary E. O'Leary  NEW HAVEN — The plans come with plenty of amenities.

And now, the city is planning to have a public workshop on the first phase of the proposed housing and retail development on the former Coliseum site downtown as the project officially has been submitted to the City Plan Commission. The site plan covers Phase 1A of the Coliseum Redevelopment and Land Disposition Agreement that was signed by the city with Montreal-based Live Work Learn Play in December 2013, but turned over to Spinnaker and partners, which also includes KDP, when the original developer could not advance it.

The documents expand on the presentation presented by Spinnaker Real Estate Partners and the Fieber Group to the Wooster Square Downtown Community Management Team that was criticized by residents as not being detailed enough.

There are also a list of questions that the Wooster Square and Hill South Community Management Team would like answered, which they have submitted to the city. No date yet has been set on the workshop.

Anstress Farwell of the New Haven Urban Design League said the management teams had hoped that the submission to the City Plan Commission would have been delayed until there was more public input from a workshop, rather than a fully developed project sent to the city. She called it “disappointing.”Phase 1A includes 200 apartments that would face South Orange and George streets on the 4.46-acre site that is an important gateway to the city off Interstates 91and 95 and has served as a 497-space parking lot since the Coliseum was demolished in 2007. But the new plan would also include 16,550 square feet of retail and restaurants, a 36-space parking garage and an amenity open space portion. One of the major components is a 6,350-square-foot public plaza and retail laneway running from South Orange Street to State Street in the middle of the former Coliseum site. 

A total of 20 percent of the housing will be considered affordable.

The apartment building will be seven stories, for a total of 202,087 square feet, some 81 feet high.

There will be 61 studio apartments, 94 one-bedroom apartments and 45 two-bedroom apartments with the entrance to the apartments off the public plaza. The one-bedroom apartments will range from 556 square feet to 720 square feet; 320 square feet for studios; and 1,140 square feet for the two-bedroom units.

There will be 16,550 square feet of retail/restaurant on the ground floor of the apartment complex in four spaces facing South Orange, State Street and the retail laneway, plans show. A two-floor amenity space of 8,100 square feet will be on the ground and second floors on the eastern side of the building. The tenants will have a 6,490-square-foot outdoor courtyard constructed over the 32-car parking garage, plans show. The two-lane retail laneway will be shared by cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles and will feature traffic calming devices.

The public plaza will be landscaped and have tables, chairs, a water element and decorative lighting features, plans show. The developers said the public space elements will exceed the 25,000-square-foot requirement.

Phase 2 will consist of more retail, restaurants and residences, as well as commercial uses, such as offices and laboratory facilities. When the Phase 1 property is conveyed to the developer, the Phase 2 portion will be leased to it as a public parking lot, plans show. In addition to the new construction, much of Phase1A concerns various parking sites that will accommodate the public as well as some of the residents and that will be operated by the developer. Phase 2 will involve a land lease arrangement with the city for a weekday public parking lot.

As the city always requires, the developers need to hire minorities for at least 25 percent of the work hours, and 6.9 percent by women. Some 25 percent of the subcontractors also would need to be filled with minority businesses.

The traffic study submitted by the developer concludes that because of the proximity to Union Station, many of the trips will be on foot, thus reducing vehicular traffic. At the full build-out, it said there would be little change at the main intersections. It suggested three alternatives for the southbound left turn on South Orange to the retail laneway and said adoption of one of them, in addition to the completion of phase one and phase two of the major Downtown Crossing roadwork would not significantly impair traffic on the adjacent streets.

The project will not require any zoning relief.

City Plan Director Aicha Woods said the public will also get to see the architectural elements of the proposed development.

The questions that the community management teams have submitted to the city are detailed and promise a lively discussion at the workshop. Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli said the staff is working with Spinnaker and the Fieber Group to get the answers.

Those questions ask about affordable housing, local labor and hiring and support of local businesses, transportation, public resources and investment, and a timeline, among others. The letter from the community management teams concludes that they would “love to offer our support in bringing community members together around this important project.” It was signed by Caroline Smith of the Downtown-Wooster Square group and Sarah McIver of Hill South. 

Windsor Locks PZC OKs sports complex development

Windsor Locks' Planning and Zoning Commission members unanimously approved the All Sports Village development Wednesday during a special meeting dedicated only to the project and spanning about five hours.

The meeting held via Zoom teleconferencing resulted in numerous technical plan revision requirements and two procedural conditions. The commission passed the project on a 5-0 vote.

According to site plans submitted in mid-August to the Planning and Zoning Commission, the sports complex will offer 20 basketball courts, which can be converted to volleyball courts, in a 220,800-square-foot building. There also will be eight outdoor turf fields for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and flag football.

Plans show that the principal developer, Andrew Borgia of JABS Sports Management, also proposed an outdoor championship turf field seating 3,500 people, plus an indoor field and sports training facility.

Developers hope the complex will host national tournaments in multiple sports. Plans say tournaments will be for teams that qualify to enter a major event sponsored by national organizations, such as AAU, Zero Gravity, U.S. Soccer, and U.S. Lacrosse. An estimated eight to 10 teams per state will be represented in the national tournaments.

The proposed site of the development is the northeast corner of Old County Road and Route 20, as well as a portion of 327 S. Center St.

Planned amenities include a family entertainment center, a medical/physical therapy unit, retail areas, restaurants, and two 150-room hotels.

The commission’s approval of the site plan is the final step in the land-use approval process. The general plan of development already has been approved, and the project has received a wetlands permit. - Affordable housing: How many units of affordable housing will be provided? How many units of each size (studio, one- bedroom, two-bedroom, and larger units)? How will they be subsidized? How long will they remain affordable? How will the buildings and public spaces support multi-generational residents, including children and elderly people?

Torrington school proposal gets a forum

Lance Reynolds  TORRINGTON – City residents will have the opportunity to learn more about the proposed $74.6 million Torrington Middle/High School building project in a public forum Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Board of Education will present the proposed project and answer questions from residents. If residents would like to submit questions ahead of the meeting, they can do so by emailing buildingproject@torrington.org.

The public forum will be the first of three scheduled before the Nov. 3 referendum, in which city taxpayers will vote on the construction of the proposed $74.6 million building.

“Originally, we were anticipating that the Board of Ed, administration, and the architects would be conducting these public forums to provide information to the public,” said school board chairwoman Fiona Cappabianca. “However, the administration is not actually legally allowed to participate in any of these forums.”

Seventh- and eighth-graders from Torrington Middle School will be brought to the new school building at 50 Major Besse Drive, the current site of Torrington High School, if approved at referendum. Central offices, currently located at 355 Migeon Ave., would also be part of the new building.

The total project would cost $159.6 million. But with an $85 million state reimbursement, city taxpayers would face a $74.6 million cost.

If the referendum fails, maintenance updates at the current Torrington High School would cost $112.2 million. A $33.9 million state reimbursement would bring that cost down to $78.3 million. Cappabianca said project architects from Kaestle Boos Associates, a New Britain-based architectural firm that has worked with the school board on the project, will also be on hand Tuesday to answer questions from residents.

The public forum will be hosted over Zoom and can be accessed online via https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84409388879?pwd=MEFnMUhWd2RRTEl3UmdyZkZxUkwvUT09 and passcode: 904663. Residents can also dial +1 312-626-6799, using webinar id: 844 0938 8879.