Affordability, traffic question surround planned New Haven project

Mary E. O’Leary

NEW HAVEN — Affordable housing, traffic and pedestrian safety top the list of concerns around a proposed development on the Strouse Adler property tied to a zone change in Wooster Square.

As the site plan evolves, however, there was frustration Monday that specifics on the number of affordable units out of 135 apartments, rental costs and the income levels of the tenants who would qualify were not answered.

PMC Property Group wants to construct a 13-story apartment tower, after the zone change, by dividing the 78 Olive St. site fronting on Chapel Street and building on that 23,000-square-foot carve-out, according to its attorney, Chris McKeon.

Changing the zone from BA general business to BD-1 central business/residential would allow for greater height and density and favors a transit-oriented development.

This has been approved by the City Plan Commission and next goes to the Legislation Committee of the Board of Alders, and then to the full board.

McKeon said they are working on the affordable housing component with Alder Eli Sabin, D-7, who arranged for the public information session Monday where the project was discussed.

McKeon said PMC is committed to an affordable component, but still is “crunching numbers” on how that works.

He pointed out that developers of two large projects across the street have no affordable units and while PMC also is not obligated to do so, “we recognize it is an important issue to the city, citywide and are factoring in the economics of the project.”

Alex Kolokotronis asked that the developer look at the area median income for New Haven, rather than the region, a point stressed by others, as well.

“I don’t know what matrix we are using,” McKeon said.

Sabin said his “number one priority for this site and for any other development in the city is that it be inclusive and that it benefits everyone in our community.”

He pointed out that the inclusionary zone recently adopted by the alders, but not yet in effect, would require 15 percent of the units be priced at 50 percent AMI.

“We are trying to work toward something along those lines. In the ordinance, developers get a pretty significant tax break to help pay for affordable housing. We are trying to balance those things,” Sabin said.

Jaime Myers-McPhail said New Haven has too many luxury apartments. He thanked Sabin for pushing the issue. “I think the answers we have gotten have been incredibly evasive and not helpful,” he said.

Bicyclists and pedestrians

Aaron Goode asked how the project promotes connectivity with the Farmington Canal Trail, which will run adjacent to the PMC property and is an important bicycle and pedestrian asset.

“Given the centrality of the Farmington Canal to the Comprehensive Plan of Development I would think we really need clarity about there being no adverse impacts,” Goode said.

Tom Daly of SLR, environmental consultants working with PMC, said they will take “a hard look” at that and make sure there are no problems with the trail.

McKeon said this will be worked out with City Plan staff as the project advances.

“You are being heard,” McKeon said. “We are not trying to be evasive. ... We are trying to listen.”

Ian Dunn said the two-block area on Chapel, given the construction along Olive, has become problematic and he wanted to see the safety plan when PMC’s construction is underway.

Design suggestions

Daly, in his presentation, said the plans call for a seamless streetscape for Chapel Street from Olive Street to the end of its property with plantings that will provide seasonal color. He also is recommending taking down a wall on Chapel Street and putting in benches, which was well received.

Lior Trestman, who was among the residents who offered design comments, said there should be a front door on the street for the proposed building.

“You are seeing just the butt-end of it (the proposed building),” he said. Combined with the 13-story height, it makes it feel very closed in, he said.

He asked that bike storage be maximized, and in conjunction with the city, said his dream is for protected bicycle lanes on both sides of Chapel. He said the four lanes of traffic there now are “ridiculous.”

The Strouse Adler site is bordered on one end by railroad tracks and the rear of the State Street Train Station site.

Creating a back entrance to the station was mentioned, something McKeon welcomed if the complicated engineering project was ever seriously proposed by the state.

Lisa Savin pushed back on uniform landscaping and also said a variety of building scales is better in an urban setting.

Arthur Nacht was told there is no agency that looks into design issues per se, although they are incorporated into the City Plan review. Nacht said there is a “certain sameness” to the buildings being built in New Haven.

Nacht was relieved that PMC will use real brick at 78 Olive St., along with metal panels and some kind of stone around the base.

But he said he worries about the sheer number of apartments built or approved downtown. While they appear to be filling up, he asked how long that can go on.

Height of the building

The entire 78 Olive St. property, 2.5 acres, now is home to the Strouse Adler building, also known as the Smoothie building, a converted garment factory with 143 apartments and 148 parking spaces.

The BD-1 zone provides for a Floor to Area Ratio of 6.0. as compared to 2.0 for BA. This is lowered to a FAR of 3.0 and a height of 70 feet if a site is adjacent to a residential zone.

FAR 6.0 means that the floor area may be up to six times as large as the lot area.

The site is bound by Olive, Chapel and Court Streets and the railroad tracks.

In answer to a question, if PMC would build on top of the Smoothie building in the BD-1 zone, McKeon said that would be adjacent to a residential zone on Olive Street, thereby limiting the height.

Getting the height PMC wants depends on not being adjacent to residential lots.

McKeon said carving out a lot on Chapel Street could be thought of as replacing the two parcels originally there among several others combined when PMC bought the property decades ago. Those parcels were 679 and 683 Chapel St.

“The FAR we are using (6.0 for the 135-unit building) would be limited to the (new) lot,” McKeon said.

The new lot would be adjacent to 673 Chapel and across the street from 630 Chapel, both of which already are zoned BD-1.

This would appear to surround the building site with BD-1 zoning.

The new building would be across State Street from the 30-plus floors at 360 State Street, an apartment complex with the Elm City Market on the first floor.

McKeon, on a related topic, said a buffer along Court Street, approved decades ago, would be taken care of whether or not the new zone gets final approval and the proposed new apartment complex is built.

This proposed development would bring apartments, stores and more to Danbury. There are safety and traffic concerns.

Rob Ryser

DANBURY — Blueprints for the biggest development of apartments and commerce in the city have prompted concerns about safety, circulation, and environmental impact as the 1.3 million-square-foot project faces its first public hearing.

“[O]n the potential problem of emergency access should an emergency along or within the main access drive prevent access to any part of the development … (t)he issue of public safety is a serious concern that requires mitigation,” said Jennifer Emminger, Danbury’s deputy planning director, in a lengthy 10-page notice to the developer of WestConn Park on Mill Plain Road. “[A] second means of access must be provided.”

Emminger is referring an 11-building proposal by Danbury developer Albert Salome for apartments, offices, stores and assisted living beds on 31 acres in the heart of the booming west side. The project, which would include a bank, a restaurant, a coffee house and retail shops along Mill Plain Road, would require 1,000 parking spaces and attract 650 more vehicles during rush hour on the already-congested stretch between the Stop & Shop and Amity Lane.

Traffic promised to be a focus during the first public hearing about the proposal by the city’s Planning Commission on Tuesday.

The developer’s traffic consultant estimates that the level of service at the nearest intersections with traffic lights would “degrade” from a current rating of “C” to a rating of “D” in 2025 if WestConn Park is developed as planned.

If “D” sounds like a bad rating, it is, according to the developer’s traffic consultant, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, of Wethersfield.

“Similar to a report card, (level of service) designations are letter based, ranging from A to F, with A representing the best operating condition (lowest vehicle delays) and F representing the worst operating condition (highest vehicle delays), VHB said in a 200-page report submitted to the city’s Planning Department.

Salame’s proposal for a mostly undeveloped landscape south of Western Connecticut State University’s west side campus and west of a residential neighborhood calls for 200 apartments in three four-story buildings, a 90-bed assisted living facility, a 50,000-square-foot office building with a garage, a two-story retail and office building, a bank with a drive-thru window, a 100-seat restaurant, a 30,000-square-foot building with shops, and a coffee house.

To make all those elements work, a narrow private road on the western border of the property called Amity Lane would be widened, extended, and fitted with traffic lights.

The property is the same location that Salame was marketing in 2005 as a science park.

WestConn Park is the largest and latest development on the west side of Danbury, which continues to be one of the fastest-growing cities in the state.

One mile west of the WestConn Park proposal, construction is underway on a 45,000-square-foot Caraluzzi’s Market and liquor store, for example. Further west and south, near the New York border, redevelopment is underway at the 1.2 million-square-foot office park known as the Summit, where the city hopes to build the first condominium-style high school and middle school in Connecticut.

Unlike the Summit, which had revisions to its master plan approved, Salame and WestConn Park are just beginning land use review.

Safety is at the top of Danbury’s concerns, particularly with last week’s winter storm still fresh in officials’ minds.

“The (Planning) Department is concerned about whether the project site can adequately and safely operate during inclement weather conditions,” Emminger said. “The applicant must provide a plan that addresses snow removal or winter maintenance on the site.”

Among the two-dozen issues Emminger raised in her notice to the developer were requests for more information about blasting, about how retaining walls as high as 50 feet would be constructed, and about rights the developer is yet to secure from neighboring property owners to make the site’s infrastructure work.

In addition, Emminger and other city officials want the developer to build sidewalks — not only on Mill Plain Road but within WestConn Park itself.

“The absence of connecting sidewalks within the development promotes and encourages auto dependency as the primary means of access, rather than walking or bicycling,” Emminger said. “Residents would be required to walk along the edge of the main access drive if they wish to visit any of the commercial business within the development. Additionally, the lack of sidewalks provides little-to-no options for residents and school age children who require access to school bus or public transportation along Mill Plain Road.”

Chamberlain Elementary School's $50 million renovation coming into focus

JENIECE ROMAN

NEW BRITAIN – City officials have released images of what the renovations to Chamberlain Elementary School will look like once completed.

Members of the School Building Committee spoke with the city’s Common Council last Wednesday to update the public about the progress of updates on Chamberlain Elementary School. The $50 million renovation project, which began in July 2021, will be completed with reimbursed funding by the state and is slated to continue throughout the winter. The renovation project is being led by a team from Newfield Construction. 

Director of Support Services Paul Salina presented to the council a fly over presentation of what the school will look like when it is completed. The virtual simulation shows the former main entrance has been moved near where the media center used to be and the former entrance will be converted to the auditorium and gymnasium. The school will have a new health clinic in offices beneath the gym. The building will have an additional wing which will make space for more classrooms. There will also be audio testing rooms for students who are hearing impared.

“The school department has designated this building to have specialized programs for the hearing impared,” Salina said. “So the students at elementary level who have hearing loss or hearing difficulties will be housed here and all of the services will be housed in one building.”

The first floor of that wing will hold the administrative offices, like the principal office and main office, which will have entrances on both sides of the building. Salina said the cafeteria will remain in the same location but undergo extensive renovations to improve the space. Traffic patterns of school buses and parent drop off were also concerned when renovations were drawn up for the exterior of the school.

When completed, the building will include an updated security system, specialized rooms and services for hearing impaired students, and a 16,000 square foot addition for administration offices. 

“It was just amazing to see. Once they started to demo, it was an amazing accomplishment to see how quickly it went,” Salina said.

In December city officials visited the Chamberlain Elementary School project site for a ceremony to commemorate the completion of steelwork. Representatives from Newfield Construction, members of the School Building Committee, Board of Education, the Common Council and Mayor Erin Stewart visited the school for a topping out ceremony. Construction workers assisted in the placement of a steel beam on the building project to represent the “last piece of steel” erected in the structure. 

Salina said although the bond was approved for $50 million, there is a possibility that the project cost will be lower than originally suggested, at around $47 million. He said the project is progressing according to schedule because Newfield Construction has worked collaboratively with the unions and suppliers by ordering supplies in advance in anticipation of shortages.

“This will be a very good use of consolidating the services into one building for the needs of each student,” Salina said.