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May 4, 2022

Olive & Wooster complex in Wooster Square makes its formal debut 

PHOTO | Liese Klein Developer Darren Seid speaks at the opening of Olive & Wooster.
By Liese Klein

A 299-unit luxury rental complex that has helped transform New Haven’s Wooster Square neighborhood was introduced to the public on Wednesday. 

Dignitaries and city officials cut the ribbon at the Olive & Wooster development. It is still getting some finishing touches from workers but is already 30% leased, according to developer Darren Seid. 

Seid's Epimoni Corp. and Adam America teamed up on the project, which has been in some stage of the development process for nearly a decade. 

“To play a role in the revitalization of this pocket of New Haven is extremely gratifying for us,” Seid said. “We were able to help stitch together this gorgeous and picturesque pocket of New Haven with downtown, the Hill, and the biotech haven being developed up the road en route to Yale New Haven Hospital, all the while being just a stone's throw from the downtown city center.”

PHOTO | Liese Klein
Exterior of Olive & Wooster as viewed from Fair and Olive streets.

With upscale touches like a pool, indoor courtyard, a working fireplace in a common area and faux-slate flooring, Olive & Wooster is pitched to renters in the market for one-bedrooms that start in the $2,200-a-month range.

Those on tighter budgets can opt for a “cooperative” apartment, in which each bedroom is leased separately with some shared common space. 

Seid said he was happy with the pace of leasing so far, even as other developments in the immediate area are due to come online in coming months for a total of nearly 1,000 new units in the area.

“It's moving along very smoothly,” Seid said, adding that the development was designed for completion in stages. 

Three-bedroom apartments have been selling the most briskly, he added, to a mix of tenants including Yale affiliates and families.

PHOTO | Liese Klein
Ribbon-cutting for the new Olive & Wooster development.

Seid also emphasized the importance of the development's ground-floor retail spaces, which add 8,000 square feet of retail adjacent to the pizzerias of Wooster Street. The developer said he is negotiating with several prospective retail tenants. 

"Knowing what I know now about New Haven, I could not have hand-picked a better location for new multifamily development with a retail corridor ripe for activation,” Seid said. 

Seid is also moving ahead on a separate, 186-unit rental complex at 20 and 34 Fair St., across a now-closed street from Olive & Wooster. 

Prior to helping to cut the ribbon on the Olive & Wooster project, Mayor Justin Elicker said, "There's so much going on in this city. And it's just exciting to feel that kind of energy. People are betting on the future of New Haven and this project shows just that.”

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