Northland Investment Corporation chairman Lawrence R. Gottesdiener explains his approach to developing Downtown New Haven's former Coliseum Site, and the importance of walkability, in the most recent issue of Business New Haven:
"We have three business plans. One is growth surrounding information-technology markets. One is contrarian: for us that's south Florida. And one is high-barrier-to-entry markets where it is very difficult to build, and that includes Connecticut and Massachusetts. New Haven fits the 'growth' and the 'high-barrier' business plan. My belief about New Haven is that it has the ability to be the greatest second-tier city in the country. New Haven has everything Hartford doesn't have - it has pulse, energy, a vibrant restaurant and somewhat of a retail scene. It now needs to go to the next level: It needs some landmark development to say, 'Forget Greenwich, forget Stamford - this is the place to live.' Not just for the best and the brightest, but also for the empty nesters who are gravitating toward university towns. The big challenge is to knit downtown to Union Station, which is why my interest in the Coliseum site and to emphasize its location at the crossroads of New England."
"The old paradigm that density is bad is over. If you really study the New Urbanism, now the argument is that density is good - live, work and play, keep people close, let people walk. Walking and train, the pedestrian experience and the train experience is going to be the future of the Northeast corridor."
For more details on Northland's plans, also visit our most recent posting on the New Haven Coliseum site (and see additional image above).
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Northland Explains Plans for Coliseum Site
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2 comments:
I agree that a key element of any downtown development is to connect Union Station with the original nine squares. But one thing we don't need is a "signature" development. This usually means a high rise (think Shartenberg) and who knows how long that building will be viable. The cost of energy is only going to skyrocket, so the bill for heating and cooling that 36-story tower may become cost prohibitive at some point.
I saw somewhere an old plan to connect Union Station with the green by way of a boulevard. That's not possible now with the plans for the connector, but using a tight grid of short blocks seems sound. But keep the buildings short, no higher than five stories. Again, in a future that will be energy scarce, the cost of heating and cooling buildings will need to factored in. Let's think ahead New Haven.
Stephen, you are absolutely correct that 4-5 story buildings are generally much more sustainable than taller or "signature" buildings, as they are better able to retain energy and can have a higher ratio of functional space to mechanical space. They are also easier to retrofit and reuse, 20 or 30 years down the road, for other purposes, and cheaper to demolish if needed. George Knight made this point in his presentation about Downtown New Haven (refer to the New Haven Independent article about this).
In a major downtown center, however, there may be advantages to building higher, particularly on sites that are immediately adjacent to a train station on the busiest commuter rail line in North America, like 360 State. The long-term analysis might depend on how high energy prices rise, but in this case New Haven is basically following the current model for other transit-oriented developments worldwide, even those in energy-conscious European countries, by increasing density along rail lines to the maximum extent possible (saving on total urban energy consumption). There are also many economic considerations at play, such as the fact that higher apartments can command much higher average prices.
Gilbert & Olmsted's renowned "Report of the New Haven Civic Improvement Commission" you refer to dates from 1910, and I highly recommend reading through in its entirety at some point (there is a copy at the NHFPL). I think it was definitely used as a guide for the City's master plan for the area. Smaller streets and walkable urban design will become increasingly important as energy prices rise.
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