Pelli Celebrates Architecture, Walkability at Downtown Event

The New Haven Independent reports today on the Town Green Special Services District's 10th anniversary event. The highlight of the event was a one hour lecture by internationally-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, who discussed projects throughout New Haven and around the world. He also explained why his office, which currently employs close to 100 architects, is located in Downtown New Haven. His explanation found a chord of agreement around the packed room.

"People ask me why I don’t live in New York. I think New York is too noisy, too distracting. New Haven is ideal for an architect. After a typical day of work, at 5:30, you can walk home and have a nice dinner with your family. Then, later in the evening, around 8:00, we all come back to work. That would never happen in New York City - it would be impossible."

“In what other city in the world does half of your staff walk to work? I even walk to work, sometimes.”

In showcasing his projects, Pelli kept referring to the critical need for walkability and developing an interface and dialogue with surrounding city streets. He was particularly proud of his newly-completed, $450-million Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, which closes down a section of U.S. Highway 1 at times so as to activate a pedestrian plaza between two buildings (see photo above courtesy of Critical Miami - how's that for traffic calming?).

In response to a question, he also stated his belief that civic, public projects "should always be more important than" private-sector projects. A native of Argentina and the recipient of hundreds of architecture awards, Pelli is currently on one of the teams applying to develop the former New Haven Coliseum site and Long Wharf Theater.

Pelli's speech was the capstone on the city's successful "Wine Dine Design" series, which discussed architecture and the future of New Haven, receiving widespread local and national attention. In addition, Stewart Johnson of Hull's, Wareck Real Estate chief John Wareck and SeeClickFix founder Ben Berkowitz received awards for their civic engagement. Town Green District Executive Director Scott Healy predicted that SeeClickFix would "soon be sweeping the nation." Expect to hear more on that this summer.

Meanwhile, a post from our neighbors at BlogStamford outlines some of the other reasons for promoting walkable urban districts.

Shore Line East expands service

In response to increasing ridership and skyrocketing gas prices, the Shore Line East commuter rail is immediately expanding to include round-trip weekend service and late-night departures from Downtown New Haven. Click here for the Governor's press release.

Rapidly increasing rail service to Downtown New Haven, from points west, east, and north (once the Springfield-Hartford-New Haven commuter line is implemented), is likely to boost land values in the downtown area and open up new opportunities for development at the nearby Coliseum Site and Union Station, especially if walkability is promoted. New Haven will once again become a major railroad hub -- a trend likely to accelerate as petroleum-intensive forms of transportation, like airplanes and automobiles, continue to become less and less viable.

Momentum Builds for Bike-Friendly Union Station

The New Haven Register reports today that the city has received a $10,000 grant to improve bicycle access at Union Station, and also has submitted a federal funding request for $145,000 for on-street dedicated and shared bike lanes connecting Union Station to Downtown New Haven and neighborhoods to the south and north of the city, which themselves have bike routes planned to connect with other sections of New Haven. The funding requests and grants also contain provisions for improved bike storage (with something like the photo at left, from a small Swedish train station, as the eventual goal in terms of encouraging use). More specifics on a proposed route can be found in the article:

"The bike lane, signage and striping would take place along Orange and Humphrey streets, Whitney Avenue, Temple, George, Church and Crown streets and Union, Howard and Columbus avenues with $15,900 for bike racks and covered parking at the rail station."

Improved bicycle routes and parking at Union Station would not only provide improved efficiency for commuters, but would also potentially have a major impact on the city's economic development, public health and traffic safety, as bicycle lanes also tend to calm traffic, promote walkability, raise real estate values, increase bicycling use, help citizens save millions of dollars per year in commuting costs, and promote local retail districts. They could also have an impact on suburban areas, by making the land near train stations on Metro North, Shoreline East and the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line more valuable.

Of course, to be truly effective and enable the majority of city residents to feel comfortable commuting via bicycle, designated bike routes must also be combined with traffic calming treatments that reduce vehicle speeds and create safer intersections. As the number of cyclists in Downtown New Haven continues to grow, transit ridership increases, and the potential citywide economic benefits of improved traffic safety are more widely understood, the political will for implementing these types of strategies -- which have been in use for decades in many other cities and countries -- will hopefully increase.

WTNH-8 also ran a video news segment on this story, with great images of overflowing bike racks at the train station and footage of Elm City Cycling's recent "Bike to Work Day/BTW Breakfast." Also see separate WTNH news coverage here (video) and here (story). The $10,000 grant application was made possible based on the city's recent application to LAB for designation as a bicycle-friendly community. Click here for a thread summarizing previous DNH coverage of bicycle access on trains and at Union Station.

Former New Haven Coliseum Site: Details on the RFQs

Original post, 5/8/08: As reported earlier, the City of New Haven has received qualifications statements from six development teams who are interested in the site. RFQs from developers were due on April 22nd.

The city development office's primary concern at this point is to find a development team that has the capacity to successfully complete a major mixed-use project that integrates the Long Wharf Theatre, which is one of the leading regional theaters in the United States. Since the site is located near the city's two train stations and at the center of Downtown New Haven, it is considered to be extremely valuable, as evidenced by the fact that six very high-quality developers have submitted RFQs.

Images and detailed proposals were not required in the current round of RFQs. The city has appointed a committee to examine the developers' qualifications, and within the next couple of months is likely to issue a request for proposals from those team(s) determined to be qualified. At that point, there will likely be additional opportunities for public comment because the land will have to be transferred and/or approved for development by the city.

However, in keeping with the spirit of good design, the teams offered preliminary sketches and ideas as to what the site might look like and how it might be experienced. These diagrams and analyses will be very useful in guiding whichever team is ultimately selected to undertake the development. Selected images and text from the RFQ responses (numbered alphabetically) appear below.

It is important to note that these are just qualifications studies and not proposals, and that in addition to some of the materials below, each development team submitted extensive materials documenting their track records of experience with large mixed-use projects, theater integration, housing, community relationships, affordable housing and retail development know-how.

Team 1: Archstone, C.A. White, and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

The Archstone team writes that the Long Wharf Theatre "is critical to the success of the development. Long Wharf's presence will energize the site, giving it a unique identity that will draw tenants and visitors alike... Long Wharf will both benefit from and add to this growth, drawing visitors to area restaurants, after-hours clubs, and potentially a contemporary hotel... the Theatre would occupy the site's most prominent street fronts: the corner of Orange and George Street, becoming the face of the new development."

Regarding the presence along Route 34, Archstone writes, "We envision transforming the facade of the long, low parking garage into a lushly planted area that will provide a transition from the grit and noise of the elevated highway to the protected residential zones of the new development and the friendly, pedestrian-scaled streets of the Ninth Square. For those who remember the Coliseum high above Route 34, the new garage's planted facade and active green roof will be a revolutionary presence: a new approach to city design that emphasizes health, diversity and accessibility - a symbol of New Haven's renaissance." View the images for an excellent summary of how the site can be designed in a more sustainable way.

Team 2: AvalonBay

Although AvalonBay did not submit detailed diagrams for the site, they suggest an urban layout for apartments, theater, and retail, plus a wrapped parking garage that "would minimize potential visual impacts of the parking structure while marking the parking facilities convenient for the proposed uses." They suggest several alternative spaces for the Long Wharf Theatre, in addition to the one shown in the diagram above, suggesting that an alternate location for the Theatre may be on Lot E facing the new Gateway Community College.

Team 3: Heyman Properties

Heyman Properties proposes a major flagship hotel incorporated with the Theatre, which would allow more than half of the site to remain "available for additional residential and commercial development" and parking (which they note would potentially be created through a joint development agreement with other developers). They believe that the site's "wonderful visibility from the major road arteries serving New Haven, superior access and close proximity to the various business, health care and academic institutions" make the site ideally suited for a major hotel. They also note that, by incorporating the two developments together, "the theatre will also benefit by gaining additional revenue for the use of its facilities by the hotel when the theatre would otherwise be dark."

Team 4: Northland and Robert A.M. Stern Architects

Calling their proposal "Tenth Square," Northland begins with a reference to Downtown New Haven's extensive history: According to The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Connecticut, the activity of colonial-era New Haven "focused on the tenth square - a group of streets plotted to the southeast between the harbor and the original Market Place [i.e., the New Haven Green]. This 'square' held the active mercantile quarter. The Long Wharf [Pier], which stretched to the harbor from the tenth square, housed an extensive shipping industry which controlled New Haven's economy in the early Federal period."

Northland's concept for the Coliseum Site is "a synergistic mix of uses, based upon new urbanism principles, designed to reduce impact on the envrionment, city services and roads while maximizing taxes and jobs. The development will be situated in a manner that respects the historic significance of the adjacent Ninth Square district yet integrates innovative methods of sustainable design.... a variety of public and open spaces, from wide, active sidewalks to commercial gathering places, will contribute to the development's distinctive character, providing a valuable amenity for the surrounding community." To Northland, the project is an "opportunity to resurrect, from a failed urban renewal attempt, the rich culture and diversity that once thrived in this former mixed use neighborhood."

As you can see from the design schemes, the RFQ also suggests a certain permeability to pedestrians, such as a major "Theater Alley", and a pedestrian connection alley from the center of the block through towards the train station. Northland describes this as "a network of streetscapes by which pedestrians can easily circulate around a site is one of the fundamental aspects of good urban design in that it promotes the health and well-being of the local community, economy and environment. This project is designed with the pedestrian in mind... the pedestrian network will be extended to adjacent street corners, providing safe and convenient circulation throughout the area for all pedestrians."

The Northland RFQ also mentions that the streets of New Haven "have become more bicycle friendly with the aim of encouraging residents and students to use bikes for their short range trips. This aids in taking cars off the local roads, making them safer for all users while also promoting healthier active lifestyles and a cleaner, greener environment." Plentiful bicycle racks are identified as a critical need.

Team 5: Related Companies and Robert Orr Architects
This RFQ does not include conceptual sketches of the site, but describes the need to "transform a site that has been desolate for decades into a lively, self-sustaining, mixed-use, mixed-income community that is woven seamlessly into the urban fabric of the Ninth Square and Downtown New Haven.... Related's design for the Coliseum site will include new streets permeating the block, adding value with increased frontage and corners" (incidentally, a point also brought up at George Knight's Wine Dine Design presentation on the future of the fire-damaged downtown block on Chapel Street). Related also suggests wrapped courtyard parking to minimize the effects that parking has on the cityscape.

Team 6: Richman Group Development and Herbert S. Newman and Partners Architects

Richman's RFQ statement presents an interesting take on their specific approach to the housing market on the site, noting that "there is a strong viable market for housing in a dynamic urban center of culture and education; an alternative to urban sprawl and resort communities. Adult Americans are turning towards cities to provide them a stimulating pedestrian-oriented life among neighbors and community. Our strategy is based upon the idea of bringing a new market of citizens into New Haven."

Richman's project narrative continues, "We are in a period of urban rediscovery and revitalization. New Haven is already a beneficiary of the renewed interest in the urban experience that is drawing people of all ages from the suburbs back to cities - to visit, work and to live.... our investigative research... indicates that there is a strong market for adults who are seeking an alternative to suburban living and retirement communities at resort locations. These studies indicate there is a critical mass of diverse, well-educated people seeking the vitality of close neighbors in an intimate, campus-like setting where they can own a townhouse or apartment."

"New Haven offers stimulating culture and education, excellent medical care, great restaurants, wonderful architecture, and two railroad stations all within a short walk of the Coliseum Site.... We are proposing a village for alumni and others at the Coliseum Site. We believe New Haven's future is in education, culture and research. We think there is a significant contribution that a group of two hundred homeowners can bring to this city in taxes, volunteerism, and purchasing power, without burdening the public school system. Our research indicates that our targeted market group is engaged and civic-minded."

The Richman Group RFQ continues with a very detailed and extensive narrative about the project's design and architectural character, which we will not try to summarize here, but that calls for sidewalk plazas, wide sidewalks for mingling before and after performances, summer outdoor performance areas that can create a destination, and an open public stairway that could integrate the Theatre's uses and "an additional place for the celebration of urban life." Their conclusion is that the project will build on the success of the Ninth Square, "a project that turns outward to emphasize the role of the street in the life of the city. It brings people closer to the train station and encourages the growing strength of the Northeast Corridor infrastructure... adding a welcoming smile at the gateway to our city."

Update 6/17/08: According to reporting in the New Haven Independent today, the field of qualified developers has been narrowed to Archstone, Northland, Richman and (possibly) Heyman. The New Haven Register also features a story on the developer selection, which is being led by a committee including city officials as well as Anthony Rescigno, Jorge Lopes, Jonathan Koppel, Maricel Valcarcel, Don McGregor, Joan Channick and Alderwoman (and Safe Streets supporter) Frances “Bitsey” Clark, D-7.

Coalition: Remove Route 34 Relic, Rell!

Following last March's open civic forum with John Norquist, a coalition of businesses, community organizations and nonprofit groups has delivered a letter to Governor Jodi Rell's desk requesting the removal of the remainder of Downtown New Haven's Route 34 connector highway -- a completely unnecessary and dangerous relic of 1950s traffic planning -- in accordance with the City of New Haven's longstanding plan to redevelop the area as a mixed-use, tax-generating, pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented development that expands the downtown. The New Haven Register also wrote an excellent masthead editorial in favor of the proposal.

Momentum for the plan is building. Even without considering the benefit the city would receive by having acres of downtown land next to Union Station available for future development (and greatly increasing the value of the development already in this area -- might a TIF be used to pay for a portion of this?), the removal of this "stub" highway would save money in the long term by reducing maintenance costs on the amount of road infrastructure in the corridor. Might the next step include a community design charrette?

The text of the letter appears below:

May 27, 2008

Governor M. Jodi Rell
Office of the Governor
State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106

RE: Removal of Route 34 in New Haven

Dear Governor Rell:

We write today as a broad coalition of community leaders, non-profit policy organizations, businesses and local elected officials to strongly urge you to support the removal of New Haven’s Route 34 connector.

Route 34, a six lane highway which runs from I-95 to the Air Rights Garage, bisects the City of New Haven, inhibiting its growth and revitalization and creating a dangerous situation for pedestrians. The highway is underused and even during rush hours does not experience significant traffic. The City of New Haven has an ambitious vision to remove the highway, recreate the street grid, and develop housing, parks, and offices in the highway’s place. We support the vision, and write to ask you to take a leadership role in helping the City and community bring the project to fruition.

There is substantial public support for the proposal. Last month the Tri-State Transportation Campaign hosted a public event in support of highway’s removal. The event, headlined by John Norquist, President and CEO of the Congress for the New Urbanism and former Mayor of Milwaukee, was attended by over 125 community members, elected officials and activists. During his tenure as Mayor, Mr. Norquist oversaw a similar project to remove the Park East Freeway, a project which has created millions of dollars in downtown investment.

The removal of Route 34 fits seamlessly into your efforts for more responsible growth and transit oriented development throughout Connecticut. The more vibrant and livable our urban centers, the more likely new and current residents will choose to reside in those areas. And by focusing growth on our cities, we are more likely to protect existing open space in rural areas.

We ask that you support the removal of Route 34, and dedicate state support towards implementing the community's plan.

Sincerely, (in alphabetical order)

Mark Abraham, Member, Elm City Cycling
Robert Alpern, Dean, Yale School of Medicine
Tokunbo Anifalaje, West River, New Haven, Resident
Nate Bixby, President, Network for a Sustainable New Haven
Lynne Bonnett, Chairwoman, New Haven Environmental Network
Frances T. Clark, Alderwoman, Ward 7, New Haven
Reverend Kevin G. Ewing, President, West River Neighborhood Services Corp.
Anstress Farwell, Executive Director, New Haven Urban Design League
Norman Garrick, Ph. D, Associate Professor and Director, Connecticut Transportation Institute, UCONN-School of Engineering
Florita Gillespie, Chairperson, Dwight Community Management Team
Scott C. Healy, Executive Director, Town Green Special Services District
David Kooris, Director, Connecticut Office, Regional Plan Association
Philip Langdon, President, Ronan-Edgehill Neighborhood Assoc.
Robert Orr, Partner, Robert Orr & Associates LLC
Christopher Ozyck, Greenway and Community Advocate
Jonathan Romanyshyn, Member, Yale Medical Area Traffic Safety Group
Kate Slevin, Executive Director, Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Don Strait, Executive Director, Connecticut Fund for the Environment
Erin Sturgis-Pascale, Alderwoman, Ward 14, New Haven
Carter Winstanley, Partner, Winstanley Enterprises, LLC

Cc: ConnDOT Commissioner Joseph F. Marie, ConnDOT Deputy Commissioner Albert Martin, State Senator Toni Harp, State Senator Martin Looney, State Representative Patricia Dillon, State Representative Toni Edmonds Walker, State Representative William R. Dyson, State Representative Juan Candelaria, State Representative Cameron Staples, State Representative Robert Megna

New Materials in New Haven Architecture

Original Post, 4/29/08: April 2008 photographs of new buildings currently rising in Downtown New Haven. Through their unique material expression, these new works offer a window into contemporary life in New Haven.

Pictures include: Gwathmey Siegel's Loria Center for the History of Art and Rudolph Building Renovation at Yale on York (zinc panels and limestone facade), Cesar Pelli's Arts and Humanities Magnet High School on College (glass with elm leaves motif and copper stair towers and roof details), Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg's new Chapel Street hotel (glass curtain wall with color glass detail), Hopkins Architect's Kroon Hall at Yale (designed to be the most environmentally friendly building in the United States in terms of CO2 reduction, showing wood truss structure), and Studio ABK's historic renovation of a stunning building on the corner of Chapel and Orange (restored terra cotta and marble details at street level). Click to enlarge the photos.

With major new commissions such as the Yale School of Management New Campus (Sir Norman Foster), College Square (Robert A.M. Stern), 55 Park Street (Svigals + Partners and Behnisch Architects), Yale-New Haven Hospital's new 500,000 square-foot Cancer Hospital (SBRA), 360 State (Becker + Becker), University Health Services (Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam) and Gateway Community College (Perkins + Will) -- and many others -- currently in design or construction, the image of Downtown New Haven will be changing for years to come. Can New Haven sustain its longstanding reputation as a place for some of the nation's most groundbreaking architecture and design?

Update 6/2/08: Chronicle of Higher Education's Buildings and Grounds site has a great new article about the Loria Center, which explains some of its interesting material qualities in greater detail. The irregular stone box of the Loria Center seems like a proper formal response to the idea of Yale being a stone campus, with each building featuring some kind of unique element in that material. In that way it can be iconic, but contextual. One of our readers points out that "it is very difficult to find a material compatible with concrete.... this stone, with its colors shifting from oyster to rust does it well."

Update 6/6/08: Another article from the Chronicle asks, what would you have done?

Walking Businesses to Downtown New Haven

In an interview published in this past week's issue of Business New Haven, the city's new EDC Chief Michele (yes, with one "l" in Michele) L. Whelley outlines her strategy for attracting new business to Downtown New Haven. It sounds like Whelley has read some of the Brookings Institution's reports and studies on the urgent need for more walkable cities:

"So more and more of our institutions are recognizing [location] decisions that are being made by top talent - faculty, doctors, researchers and also students are [driven by] lifestyle [preferences] and where they want to be.... what you sell is the urban environment, which for some companies is a huge plus. The lifestyle, the walkability, resources and facilities.... [Technology companies need] to locate near one another, not necessarily in one building but near enough that there is a sense of community and collaboration. And they have to be able to hire the talent they need, and that circles back to lifestyle."

Downtown New Haven has made major strides in terms of walkability, becoming the most vibrant, walkable place between Boston and New York (and was recently named one of the 20 most walkable cities in the United States). Promoting bicycling and walking is critical to economic development, not only because of "lifestyle" and density preferences, but also because the massive amount of money typically spent on automobile operation gets redirected locally instead of sent offshore. These forms of transportation will grow increasingly important as gas prices continue to rise.

Michele Whelley implies that if the state wishes to compete more effectively in the global economy and attract new residents and businesses, it needs to begin paying even closer attention to promoting transit-oriented development, true pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and "livable" streets, improved multi-modal transit, more frequent mass transit, geographically dense business clusters and urban infill opportunities in key urban centers like New Haven. The city will also need more urgent regional and state support for projects such as the rebuilding of the Route 34 corridor, the mixed-use development at Union Station and other long-term changes to the Downtown.

College Square Rendering Reveals RAMSA Influence

A new rendering of the College Square project appears on the Centerplan website, showing the design influence of Robert A.M. Stern Architects. Groundbreaking for the anticipated five-star hotel portion of this project is still planned for this fall, with completion scheduled for 2011. The building is situated directly across the street from Cesar Pelli's new high school.

According to developer Robert Landino, the hotel will be a "full-service luxury hotel with 240 rooms with a full package of amenities that will complement the neighborhood, business community and [Yale-New Haven] hospital."

Northland Explains Plans for Coliseum Site

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).

City Receives Multiple Bids for Former Coliseum Site

Original Post, 4/22/08: Official RFQs for the major 4+-acre Downtown New Haven site were received this morning from a wide range of development and real estate companies. The City of New Haven has been seeking a project team that can create a vibrant mixed-use, walkable development incorporating the Long Wharf Theater.

The list of proposers looks promising at a first glance. Related Companies, for example, was the successful developer of the massive $1.1 Billion, 2.8 million square foot Time Warner Center -- the most valuable real estate property in all of New York City. AvalonBay has 171 major developments with 49,000 apartments. The other bidders have impressive track records as well -- focusing on development in, for example, "the most desirable neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, the New York metropolitan area, Seattle and Boston."

The site has also long attracted attention from New Haven-based architects (also see here).

What's next? Selected development firms will face an in-depth selection process and a difficult financing market. In fact, fallout from the financial troubles in the global market effectively prevented a number of major companies from responding to the RFQ, even though the site's central downtown location -- one block from Union Station and the proposed new Transit Oriented Development there -- is extremely valuable. More information on the RFQ (including details such as proposed land uses) should be available soon.

RFQ SUBMITTALS 4/22/08
THE RICHMAN GROUP DEVELOPMENT , GREENWICH , CT
ARCHSTONE , NEW YORK , NY
HEYMAN PROPERTIES, LLC , WESTPORT, CT
NORTHLAND INVESTMENT CORPORATION , NEWTON , MA
AVALONBAY COMMUNITIES, INC. , SHELTON , CT
RELATED COMPANIES LLP , NEW YORK, NY

Update, 4/24/08: Coverage of the response now appears in today's New Haven Register, Yale Daily News and New Haven Independent.

Update, 5/2/08: Articles about the proposed downtown development, with additional details and images of the responses, appear in Business New Haven, New Haven Register and the New Haven Independent. More images may be available soon and will be posted here.

Update, 5/8/08: Additional details on the Coliseum RFQ are now posted in a separate article.

500-unit Shartenberg Mixed-Use Development Begins Construction

Original Post, 4/21/08: Becker + Becker's "360 State" development on the former Shartenberg Site at the heart of Downtown New Haven is now beginning construction. An 8-foot high blue fence with concrete barriers has been erected around the complete perimeter of the block, and informational graphics along the length of the fence will be installed this week. Utility and site work has already begun, with a significant amount of underground work planned as part of the project. Major construction activity will be underway within the next few weeks.

Scheduled for completion in 2010, the 355-foot-tall tower will be the second-highest building in New Haven, bringing the residents of 500 new apartments to Chapel Street between Orange and State.

The site is conveniently located across the street from the State Street train station. Aside from its dense urban location, the development contains energy efficient design features. Elements like geothermal heating and cooling and solar cells, if used, would benefit from various state subsidy programs designed to promote energy efficiency. There will also be indoor bicycle parking spaces for each unit. The project also is planned to contain a massive ornament program, running the full length of the facade, designed by internationally-renowned New Haven-based public sculptor Kent Bloomer.

The 500-unit, 34-story building is designed to be set back from the street and tower above a retail and parking garage base with glass entrance towers. The project, tentatively called "360 State" for its actual street address as well as its panoramic views of the region (and the fact that it is 36 stories tall), will even feature a half-acre landscaped terrace (sitting on top of the parking) with an outdoor pool. The developer expects to get the same rents as what the 227 Church Street luxury building currently gets -- $3,500 for 3BRs, $2,300 for 2BRs, $1,700 for 1BRs and $1,250 for studios. Most of the building will consist of studios and 1BRs. 10% of units in the building will have subsidized ("affordable") rents tied to income level.

According to Business New Haven this week, a "high end" grocery store on the first floor may be leased shortly. The city hopes that the project will help encourage walkability between the Downtown New Haven core area and Wooster Square, a historic neighborhood just a couple blocks to the east of the site.

Click here for the preliminary renderings by Becker + Becker; updated renderings should be available shortly. In the meantime you can also download a CT Business article about the Downtown New Haven project.

Update 5/1/08: New Haven Independent coverage of the 360 State project appears here, along with a new rendering of the project. It appears that the building on the corner of Orange and Chapel Street has been changed from its original design, which was to have continued the retail and parking garage along the entire length of the block. If the building ends before the corner with Orange Street, it might create an opportunity for another developer or architect to create a concept for a second building on the site.

Hollywood East

The New Haven Register reports today about upcoming movie shoots in Downtown New Haven and the surrounding area, including one with Robert DeNiro and Kate Beckinsale scheduled for next week at Union Station.

According to the Register, "Connecticut has become known as “Hollywood East” because of a 30 percent tax credit given to filmmakers who spend money here." Apparently, the enormous tax credit is already having a spillover effect in the regional real estate market.

Last summer, a significant portion of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was filmed in Downtown New Haven, pumping an estimated $10 million into the local economy and attracting thousands of tourists from all over the world hoping to catch a glimpse of Steven Spielberg. According to New York Times coverage at the time, film production in Connecticut had increased from $750,000 to $52 million immediately after the tax credit was introduced, and was expected to top $300 million this year. In other words, don't be surprised if someone even more famous than Harrison Ford hits New Haven this summer.

While we're on the subject of tourism, check out this week's article in The Independent's (UK) Business Travel section that highlights Downtown New Haven. We are guessing that the travel correspondent attended last week's Discover New England summit in New Haven. Tourism to New England from Europe is rapidly increasing, in part due to the decline of the dollar.

Update: The Courant writes about how you can volunteer your house for a movie shoot.
Update 6/3/08: DeNiro films at Yale.

Private equity firms, restaurants, biotechs, video game companies, marketing firms moving into Downtown New Haven

Residents, high-end business firms, and retail operations are increasingly drawn to Downtown New Haven's walkability and urban vitality. Class A office rents in New Haven are now approaching $30 as Yale University and other users continue to expand. An integrated marketing firm with clients including GE, IBM, Bic, Oxford Health, MasterCard and the New York Times recently leased the entire floor of a large building on Chapel Street. Venture Capital investments grew significantly in 2007, with a large proportion of the hundreds of millions of dollars in regional investment going to New Haven rather than elsewhere in Connecticut -- recipients include video game, marketing and biotechnology firms.

Check back later this week or early next week for details on these and other Downtown New Haven news items.

91 Church Street Saved?

The New Haven Register reports today on plans to resurrect the fire-damaged building at 91 Church Street.

The photos at left were taken December 17th, a few days after the fire ravaged the interior of the block (click on them for a close-up). For more information on potential ideas for how to rebuild that section, also see this New Haven Independent article on George Knight's presentation to Wine Dine Design.

"The plan for 91 Church St., only a portion of which escaped the wrecking ball following the Dec. 12 blaze, is in its formative stages, but owner Paul Denz has indicated he is committed to renovating what’s left."

"He has some rough architectural drawings to overhaul the space for two retail businesses, one at street level and the other in the basement, and about four apartments on the upper floors."

"Scott Healy, executive director of the New Haven Downtown [Town Green] Special Services District, which promotes the area’s image and business community, said that section of Church Street, with retail on both sides, is key to the city’s vitality."

Aside from its effect on retail continuity, retaining this building is important because it is a key part of the street wall along Church Street, which creates a sense of security and enclosure - an urban "living room." The Church Street corridor is a major gateway into Downtown New Haven.

The property, which prior to the fire contained a retail operation on the first floor and a beautiful abandoned ballroom on the second floor, is threatened not just because of the cost of renovation, but also because it would be a potentially convenient place to create an access lane for deliveries into the center of the block, which will most likely be rebuilt in the near future.

Irons in the Fire

Reporting by Business New Haven on new commercial developments in and around Downtown.
http://www.conntact.com/article_page.lasso?id=41804

Union Station as reimagined by the City...

Reporting by the New Haven Independent: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/03/read_union_stat.php

See the full study here: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/upload/2008/03/JLL020708.pdf

Some are apparently concerned that the plan does not do enough for pedestrians and bicyclists. A discussion on Elm City Cycling's listserv has begun: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/elmcitycycling/message/6270

808 Chapel Street sold

Horvath and Mancinone of Marcus & Millichap sell 3 New Haven buildings for $1.71m

"The third property, 808 Chapel St., is a well positioned mixed use property located in downtown New Haven. The building is located on the corner of Orange St. and Chapel St. directly in the center of the downtown revitalization and adjacent to the soon to be developed Shartenberg site."

http://nerej.com/19614

Downtown hotels going upscale

HOTELS GOING UPSCALE: WITH YALE AS A DRAW, DEVELOPERS LOOK TO FILL NEED FOR ROOMS IN NEW HAVEN

Hartford Courant, Eric Gershon, Dec 4, 2007

As Paul McGowan attempts to transform a bygone motor inn at 1157 Chapel St. into a glassy boutique hotel, he's got countless details to fret about, from the pace of construction to the brand of shampoo he'll leave on the bathroom sink. One thing he doesn't worry about is the location: It's square in the heart of Yale University, the city's main magnet for out-of-town visitors.

Yale refers visitors to several local hotels and licenses or lends its name to a few of them, including the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, a 306-room full-service hotel near the green that is generally regarded as the city's top hotel. But the Omni is often full and that has made it a prime target for emerging rivals.

"We'll be competing mainly with the Omni," said McGowan, a former Starwood Hotels and Resorts executive whose development and consulting firm, Hospitality 3, bought the no-frills Colony Inn a year ago for nearly $7 million, then closed it for a multimillion-dollar overhaul that will add two stories and put a sleek new face on the street.

The five-story, circa-1963 building sits directly across from the Yale School of Art and just west of the School of Architecture. The Yale Repertory Theater and the university's two major art museums are one block east. A slow walker could reach some of the city's most popular restaurants in five minutes or less, as well as several cafes and bookstores, a news shop and a haberdasher.

"That is a good starting point," said McGowan, who has hired KPMB Architects of Toronto to design the hotel. The firm handled renovations of Yale's Sprague Memorial Hall in 2003. The reinvention of 1157 Chapel is the most ambitious hotel project in New Haven in a decade and one sorely needed to meet demand, estimated to be at least 200 to 300 rooms above the 1,310 rooms now in the city, according to local real estate experts.

But McGowan's project, which will add 39 rooms to the 86 the Colony already had, for 125 in all, isn't even the biggest hotel project on the horizon.

Four blocks away, on College Street, Centerplan Development of Hartford plans to build a 19-story structure where it envisions a 250-room "four or five-star" hotel, 124 luxury condominiums and ground-floor retail. Robert A.M. Stern, dean of Yale's architecture school, has been hired as the designer. The project is expected to break ground next year and open in 2011.

Meanwhile, city officials are preparing to seek bids for redevelopment of the site occupied, until last January, by the demolished New Haven Coliseum. The city has studied the feasibility of a conference center and hotel complex for the site and officials anticipate some bidders to propose lodgings, although a conference center is now considered unlikely. Elsewhere downtown, at least one major hotel has sought approval to add nearly 50 rooms.

All the activity is really no wonder: "'Can you help me get some rooms?'" is a question Anthony Rescigno, president of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, says he hears often. And it's not uncommon that he makes referrals to hotels in the suburbs, where most of New Haven County's hotel development has happened in the last 10 to 15 years.

Finally, he said, "The pressure is starting to hit the boiling point where I think we're going to start to see some new hotels" in the city.

Developers' interest in downtown New Haven as a place for hotels coincides with their interest in building new apartment and condominium projects there, some on a grand scale. Fairfield developer Bruce Becker is planning to break ground this winter on a 29-story apartment project at Chapel and State Streets intended to include 485 units, for example. When finished, it will be one of the city's tallest buildings. Smaller residential projects have already been built. Others are in progress.

Like the residential developments, the hotel projects are inspired by New Haven's renaissance, marked by its lively night life and restaurant scene. Unflagging demand from Yale-related visitors encourages hotel construction in particular.

"We may not have the corporate community that some other towns do, but the academic community also puts a lot of stock in face-to-face meetings," said Karyn Gilvarg, executive director of New Haven's City Plan Department.

Yale and affiliated institutions, such as Yale-New Haven Hospital, generate the largest share of hotel room stays, municipal and tourism officials said, though no one could say how many room-nights that equals in a year. Bruce Alexander, Yale's vice president for New Haven and State Affairs and Campus Development, said the school does not centralize record-keeping of this information.

Nonetheless, Alexander, who has met with developers to discuss the city's hotel market, predicts that a "200-300 room hotel would do very well in New Haven."

While the 1157 Chapel and Centerplan projects stand to remake the hotel scene in New Haven by expanding the number and variety of high-end accommodations, some less ambitious but welcome improvements have been made already. Several hotels have changed hands in the last couple of years; the Whalley Avenue Holiday Inn became a Marriott, an upgrade Yale appreciated enough to bestow its name on the operator. The hotel is called the Courtyard New Haven at Yale, and it is preparing to add rooms.

So far, local upgrades have added precious few rooms to the net hotel stock and no large hotel has challenged the Omni as the lodging of choice for consumers not preoccupied with price. (The Omni's standard corporate rate is $209 per night, before taxes, though promotional rates are sometimes available. Suites typically cost $399. By contrast, the average hotel room in greater New Haven costs between $90 and $100, according to tourism agency figures.)

Located on Temple Street, just off the New Haven Green, the Omni opened in late 1997, after a roughly $30 million renovation of the former Park Plaza Hotel. Since then, the Omni has been regarded as the city's premier hotel. But rooms can't always be found there, especially on the two dozen or so nights a year when New Haven is flooded with visitors, often for Yale-related events, such as graduation, reunions and the Yale-Harvard football game.

So McGowan, a Woodbury resident who was deeply involved in the creation and expansion of the W Hotels brand while with Starwood, saw an opening: "You've got a highly intellectual, pretty affluent community here, in terms of alumni and families of students and graduates of the university, visiting professors, dignitaries, friends. I think the need for upscale lodging is pretty evident."

Thomas Sullivan, the Omni's general manager, said he welcomes other hotels to New Haven.

"It means the city's growing and that benefits everybody," he said. "We don't look at new competition as a threat. What it does is it gives us a new opportunity to be sure that we're also on our game."

By the time McGowan's as-yet-unnamed hotel opens next summer, it should have two extra stories, 125 guest rooms, 100,000 total square feet, a penthouse lounge with views of Yale's spires and courtyards, a ground-floor restaurant, a coffee kiosk, meeting spaces, new elevators - and a glass exterior embedded with small pieces of amber, blue and green.

McGowan declined to discuss the cost of the "top-to-bottom" overhaul, and has not yet announced room rates. The developer, who is simultaneously working on a W Hotel in Hoboken and a residential development in Woodbury, envisions his future New Haven patrons as "highly intellectual but not necessarily pretentious." The interior and furnishings will be tailored to meet the approval of their needs and tastes, he said.

The main lobby will have floors of walnut and granite and will evoke a "modern-day library," with pockets of seating to invite lingering, for example. Rooms will be decorated in "warm" tones and outfitted with wide desks facing the windows, ergonomic desk chairs and leather reading chairs with ottomans.

"We want this hotel to have soul," said McGowan. "We want people to feel something different when they stay with us. We're trying to create a place."

Contact Eric Gershon at egershon@courant.com.