|
|
|
Downtown Doings
What goes down must come up in the city center
|
Business New Haven
3/6/2000
By: Michele Beck
|
From the sale of the Palace Theatre to new residential and office real estate coming on the market, downtown New Haven has awakened from the doldrums. And many more projects are in the offing. What follows is a project-by-project rundown of what's doing in downtown New Haven.
Chapel Square Mall
Nothing is more central to New Haven's downtown than the three-block complex encompassing Chapel Square Mall and the former Macy's and Malley's properties. The fact that nothing has been done with the two former department-store parcels, coupled with the fact that the mall has been allowed to languish (that's putting it nicely) casts a pall over the entire downtown and detracts from the excitement generated by other areas of resurgence and development.
The problem is not a lack of interest. “We turn people away frequently,” says Matthew Nemerson, president of Chapel Square of New Haven Inc., referring to prospective tenants. But Chapel Square of New Haven does not want to sign any long-term leases until there is a City Hall-approved plan for the entire three blocks. Developing the three blocks as a unified concept, says Nemerson, is “the advice we've gotten from Yale, from all sorts of major developers.”
Fortunately, proposals for such a concept are in the offing. “There are a number of really wonderful concepts coming up for those three blocks,” Nemerson says. One, unveiled just last week by Ernst & Young as part of a retail business plan it was retained to create for the Town Green Special Services District, sees the site as an urban entertainment center.
The mall's interior would be converted into an academic conference center and the stores opened up on the street side.
The Ernst & Young plan also recommends bringing strong retail stores into both the corner of Chapel and Church where Strawberries used to be and the corner across the street. This would help tie the Chapel Square area to Ninth Square better (see story, page 1).
The next step will be to see what City Hall thinks of the proposals. Meanwhile, Nemerson says he is still granting short-term leases, and encourages anyone with an idea for retail to talk to him.
Yale Co-op
The Yale Co-op, anchor store of the Chapel Square Mall, acquired new management in the middle of last year when one of the country's top three college bookstore chains, Wallace's, was brought in to remodel and manage the store. The store was renovated in August, and since that time the new managers have experimented with many new product lines. “The board is very happy with Wallace's management,” says Mike Thompson, chairman of the Co-op's board of directors.
“The bookstores are both doing well,” reports current general manager Jill Costie, referring to the Co-op's branch up by the medical school as well as the main downtown store. Trade books are competitively priced and selling well. Costie has been especially surprised, however, by the success the Co-op has had with health and beauty aids and grocery items.
What she has had more difficulty with is the store's clothing items. “It is taking us a little time to nail down what the market is [for women's clothing],” she says, pointing out that it has been hard to determine just what is the primary age range of downtown shoppers - students, young professionals (25 to 40), or 40-plus? She has finally decided that young professionals are the ones to target, and having come to that conclusion, is eager to see how the Co-op does with its new spring line for women.
Costie's decision about whom to target with her clothing line reflects her sense of Chapel Square Mall shoppers in general. “There is a strong professional crowd downtown, and I don't know if they're hitting that market,” she says, referring to the mall's current group of retailers. She thinks the mall would do better if it had a wider representation of product lines and price ranges. “I don't see the young professionals shopping in that mall, and that's what I would like to see,” she says.
Ninth Square
The residential improvements to Ninth Square are “very strong,” according to Kathleen Etkin, project manager for the Ninth Square Project Limited Partnership.
“What's not working well is their retail,” points out Jane Snaider, president of the Town Green Special Services District. Although three new commercial establishments have opened there in the last six months (Tycoon's and the Royal Palace, restaurants both, and J.K. Hair Art), there is still ample room for growth.
Ernst & Young's retail plan for downtown included a few recommendations for Ninth Square. These were for a public market behind 55 Church Street, and for a high-end crafts store. The consultants also expressed confidence that strong retail stores on strategic corners could establish a better connection between the Chapel Square Mall and Ninth Square.
Temple Street Garage
The remodeling of this central downtown garage is currently in the final stages of the spec process. According to William Kilpatrick, executive director of the New Haven Parking Authority, the authority will begin advertising for proposals from contractors no later than March 6. The next step will be the pre-bid meeting, which is slated for some time in early April. Kilpatrick hopes to be able to award the contract sometime in early May, and to begin construction by early July.
The remodeling will take approximately 18 months from start to finish. “We hope to complete the project without any displacement of current parkers,” Kilpatrick says. The aim of the renovation is primarily beautification – of both the garage itself and of the surrounding streetscape. Users will also appreciate the addition of new elevators. The number of parking spaces will be unchanged.
Liberty Apartments
“People said, 'Who's going to lease here?'” Steve Witten remarked recently about the transformation of the Liberty Building, on Temple Street across from the Omni, into 123 luxury apartments. “I was very bullish.” Witten, who is with the real estate firm of Marcus, Millichap, Witten & Nolletti, can now say, “I told you so.”
The units went up for lease late last spring, and his firm had completely rented them in less than 90 days. A fair number of the new tenants are Yale-affiliated - graduate students, visiting professors and the like - and the rest are mostly professionals who work downtown.
Witten says people had been skeptical about members of the Yale community renting so far away from campus, but evidently their misgivings were misplaced. The Liberty building currently fetches the highest residential rents in New Haven.
Is there a market for more such apartments downtown? “Absolutely,” says Witten.
Strouse-Adler Building
The Strouse-Adler building, on the corner of Olive and Chapel streets, had been in foreclosure when the note and the mortgage were sold to a developer, Ansonia Properties of New York. The transfer of title is now being finalized.
Marcus, Millichap, Witten & Nolletti will be handling this project also, and as with the Liberty building, the Strouse-Adler building will be converted into 150 luxury apartments. “The city is very positive on seeing this property converted,” Witten says.
Witten reports that his firm is currently working with a local architect, who is now working up drawings. He estimates that renovations will begin in six to 12 months.
227 Church Street
Not only will downtown be able to boast of its luxury residential buildings. Soon it will be able to take pride in its luxury office buildings as well. The old SNET headquarters at 227 Church Street, recently purchased by ELK Investors of New York, is just about ready to receive tenants, according to Carl Traub, president of Traub & Co., leasing agents for the building.
Traub says the renovation, which “is trying to preserve the Art Deco look and feel of the building in a first-class modernized structure,” is nearly complete. The old partitions have been cleared out. New HVAC and sprinkler systems are being installed and the elevators are being redone. A “very nice” athletic facility is also being installed on the lower level. It will boast state-of-the-art equipment and steam and shower rooms.
Traub says he is seeing “a lot of interest” in the building. He is only looking at full-floor or multiple-floor tenants, and expects 227 Church to have “one of the most prestigious tenant rosters in the state of Connecticut.”
300 George Street
The SNET building at 300 George Street was also sold recently. The current owners, Winstanley Enterprises, LLC of Boston, are in the process of officially changing the name of the building to the “George Street Technology Center” and transforming the structure into one that will be especially attractive to biotech and technology companies.
The $25 million overhaul, slated to begin this month, according to Adam Winstanley, will start with a complete gutting of the building, followed by a “soup-to-nuts” renovation. It will include a lot of infrastructure improvements that will make the structure attractive to biotech and technology firms, Winstanley says.
Winstanley reported that his firm is currently in lease negotiations with two biotech tenants, and in discussions with a third. He expects the building to be ready for occupancy in about a year and a half.
Palace Theater
The sale of the Palace Theater to David Nyberg and Ron Kaplan has opened up a number of interesting possibilities. The city has formed a not-for profit holding company set up to lease the theater from its new owners. It has deemed the Palace “underutilized” and would like to see it operate full-time. The city is considering leasing it to a not-for-profit theater company who could turn it into a full-time operation.
The Shubert Performing Arts Center across the street is definitely one such entity the city is considering, according to Robert Resnikoff, the Shubert's director of marketing and public relations for the Shubert. And, says Resnikoff, the Shubert is definitely interested in working out such an arrangement.
“The Shubert is more and more returning to its legacy - world premieres and Broadway tryouts,” he says. This has definite benefits for the city, such as the groups of 100 or more actors and crew that are in town for weeks at a time preparing for one of these openings.
But it also has a downside. The Shubert is tied up, unusable for public performances for those same several weeks, while sets are built and the performance readied.
Because the Shubert also wants to keep offering the public a certain amount of family entertainment each year - opera, dance and other types of performances including concerts - it must limit the number of premieres and Broadway tryouts it puts on the boards.
An ideal solution, says Resnikoff, would be to acquire the Palace to use as a kind of “second stage.” While one theater was tied up with preparations for a first-run show, the other could be used for other performances. “We could do much more,” notes Resnikoff.
First, however, major work needs to be done to the Palace's interior - apparently millions of dollars worth, according to Resnikoff.
Long Wharf Theatre
Will the Long Wharf Theatre become part of a downtown “urban entertainment complex”? A move downtown has definitely been talked about, but according to Michael Ross, the Long Wharf's managing director, the idea is still just in the study phase. A board committee is currently doing a feasibility study of the issue, but there is no definite date for the study's completion.
Ross further adds that at this time the Long Wharf has no plans for becoming involved with the Palace Theatre.
Yale Properties
As a major downtown landlord, Yale has several projects in the works that will impact the downtown community. As owner of the old Cutler's Record Shop on Broadway, the university plans to begin demolition of this structure within about a month in order to clear the way for a new building to be erected. Urban Outfitters will be one of the tenants in the new building. Others have yet to be announced.
Yale is also the new landlord for ten properties on Chapel and College Streets formerly owned by the Schiavone Management Co. The university's plan for these buildings is to clean them up and fix up their facades. “We don't see any big changes in tenants,” says Thomas Violante, Yale spokesperson.
While not a commercial property, the transformation of the old Jewish Community Center will nonetheless have a significant impact on Chapel Street between York and Park. Yale is currently busy renovating the building in order to use it for its school of art. Violante says what remains is exterior work, and a little more work on the interior.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
