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June 5, 2018

At long last, Church Street South demolition will begin

Rendering | Contributed A rendering of the city's Union Square transformation plan.
By Natalie Missakian

A Massachusetts developer will start tearing down New Haven’s troubled Church Street South housing complex within the next two weeks now that city officials have relocated the last of its tenants, officials said.

Built in 1968, the cinderblock complex includes 301 apartments in 22 buildings on 13 acres across from Union Station.

Northland Investment Corporation, which owns the complex, plans to build a mixed-use development there that includes 1,000 apartments, a third of which would be subsidized for low-income renters.

The proposal is part of the Hill-to-Downtown Community Plan, New Haven’s long-term vision to revitalize the area between the train station and Yale New Haven Hospital and connect it to downtown.

Officials from federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, New Haven's Livable Cities Initiative (LCI) and Elm City Communities (formerly the Housing Authority of New Haven), have been working with Northland since 2015 to relocate residents of the crumbling, federally-subsidized complex.

The city condemned the structures following lawsuits against Northland and inspections that revealed numerous health and structural hazards, according to news reports.

Elm City Communities Executive Director Karen DuBois-Walton said officials have secured permanent housing for about 260 families while another six are in temporary housing.

“The relocation team is continuing to work to find these families a permanent home,” she said.

Northland CEO Larry Gottesdiener said finding quality housing for all of the 266 Church Street South families has been “a complex challenge” and that the company was grateful for residents’ “patience, understanding and flexibility.”

In a statement, Mayor Toni Harp commended the developer and all agencies involved “for doing what’s right” for the former residents.

“My administration remains committed to working with the property owners to revitalize this property and provide for the city an historic opportunity to reshape the face of downtown,” she said.

Northland has begun pre-demolition work at the site. The city is working with HUD and Northland to seek funding for the affordable housing component of the project, said LCI Executive Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo.

Last month, the city broke ground on another piece of the Hill-to-Downtown plan: Stamford developer Randy Salvatore’s four-story apartment and retail building at 22 Gold St. That project is expected to be finished next year.

Natalie Missakian can be reached at news@newhavenbiz.com

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