New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Proposal for 500 apartments on water
Units on Long Wharf Drive to include retail
NEW HAVEN — There certainly would be water views.
More apartments are being proposed for the city, this time along the harbor off Long Wharf Drive.
Lynn Fusco of Fusco Harbor Associates LLC and Fusco Maritime Associates LLC has submitted a petition to the Board of Alders to modify a
Planned Development District approved in 1984 to allow construction of up to 500 units on a parcel bound by New Haven Harbor and Long Island Sound.
The proposed site is on the south side of Long Wharf Drive on 4.3 acres between the Fusco’s Maritime Center and the Canal Dock Boathouse, on land that was home to a series of restaurants, the most recent being Lenny and Joe’s.
The modified PDD would consist of three parcels: “501
Long Wharf Drive with related parking to be included at the existing Maritime Center and connected parking garage at 585 Long Wharf,” according to the proposal.
The proposal fits into the Long Wharf Responsible Growth Plan adopted by the city in 2018, which is part of the New Haven Vision 2025.
The growth plan proposed five new walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods for Long Wharf, one of which was a Harbor District.
The Vision Plan said Long Wharf was underutilized and it recommended “denser development of new residential and commercial uses.”
“This portion of the Long Wharf area is one of the most visible locations in the city and often the first impression visitors have of New Haven,” attorney Matthew Ranelli wrote in his letter to the alders.
He said the proposed development would provide “a critical mass of residences on-site and create a destination for New Haven residents and others to visit the shoreline. The mixeduse amenities will create a synergy and direct connection with the boathouse, Long Wharf Park, and the Hill South and Downtown neighborhoods.
“People will have more options; they can meet for a walk or bike ride, visit with friends and family, shop in the market, enjoy a meal or potentially some live entertainment, or just sit and enjoy the harbor,” Ranelli wrote of the proposal.
The current PDD allows for such things as a restaurant, office use, commercial/retail, and other service, research, professional and marine-related uses. Ranelli, in tracing the history of the property, said it was thought that residential and greater retail uses would be added at some point.
The general plan is to construct two mixed-use buildings of 13 and 15 stories with a range of apartments from studios to three-bedrooms. The first floor would contain 20,000 square feet of commercial space, including a market with indoor and outdoor food services.
The buildings would contain one floor of parking, loading areas and valet parking options for spaces in the nearby 1,800space Maritime Center garage, which was built with extra capacity.
The existing Maritime Center was constructed by Fusco and now houses Fusco’s headquarters and many other New Haven businesses.
The proposed plan is “intended to improve and enhance public access to the site and in particular New Haven’s waterfront while also providing residents with over 250 square feet of open space per unit.” Ranelli wrote.
The developers submitted a traffic study that said the existing roads have the capacity to accommodate the development. Its stormwater management report said the proposal “will not result in any increase in the peak rate or total volume of runoff.”
Ranelli said the developers met with the Hill South Community Management Team members and Alder Carmen Rodriguez
July 30 to present its draft plan. He said there was a desire by the residents to connect with the shoreline for walking and biking.
SLR International Corp. submitted a coastal site plan for the project, which has direct frontage on New Haven Harbor and straddles two 100-year flood zones.
“The proposed project has been designed mindful of the dynamic coastal area, and the site redevelopment allows for periodic flooding. The buildings will lie above the base flood elevation with freeboard to account for anticipated sea level rise. The project incorporates green infrastructure to improve storm water quality prior to discharge in New Haven Harbor,” according to the report.
The proposal is to remove the existing building and parking lot to allow construction of the two apartment buildings, plazas and outdoor lawn areas, as well as a public walkway along the seawall.
“The lower levels of the high rise buildings will be used as open, floodable garages and commercial areas, while the upper levels will be residential,” according to the engineers.
“The buildings will be constructed to resist hydrostatic and hydrodynamic wave loads as well as debris loads. The buildings will be constructed to velocity zone flood zone standards and are designed to National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Connecticut Building Code standards with appropriate freeboard between first flood elevations and flood zones. A flood contingency plan will be prepared to address egress from the site in forecasted storms,” SLR wrote.
The developers said because public access and visual connection to New Haven Harbor was a key element in site design, there would be public seating, plantings and stormwater infiltration areas between the two buildings.
The public walkway along the harbor would be 10 feet wide at an elevation of an estimated 5 feet, 7 inches, and would connect the project site to Long Wharf Drive and adjacent properties to the east.
A pervious concrete walkway at an elevation of 14 feet is proposed to cross over the existing walkway at elevation 5 feet in order to provide access to an overlook platform of the New Haven Boathouse and harbor as well as provide access to the boardwalk and market entrance.
The proposed buildings would be constructed at an elevation of an estimated 15 feet, while the proposed plaza and market area will be constructed at an elevation of 14 feet, 5 inches.
The amount of impervious surface within the project site would be slightly less than existing conditions with approximately 1.949 acres (45.3 percent) of impervious surface within the 4.3-acre project site.