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DOWNTOWN NEW HAVEN BUSINESS REVIEW
In the Eye of the Beholder
Downtown beautification projects evidence New Haven isn't throwing all its eggs into mall basket
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Business New Haven
8/23/99
By: Susan Banfield
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Historically, the functions of a downtown are to generate and provide jobs, to provide most of a city's taxes, and to provide a core center for a city to give it a strong sense of identity, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. explained recently. While the new Long Wharf mall may do much to supplement the first two of these purposes, no mall can provide that strong sense of identity DeStefano speaks of.
However, the city's currently projected downtown renovation and beautification programs should do much to help further this most important goal, city officials say.
The visual appeal of a downtown plays a major role in creating a sense of identity and in attracting visitors. New Haven has tremendous visual assets in its existing buildings, many of which are old, elegant and architecturally unique. A new $175 million façade program will do much to make the most of this architectural treasure trove.
Buildings along Chapel Street from State to College, and along Church Street from Chapel will be included in the initial phase of the program, slated to begin next month. According to Anthony Bialecki, project manager for the city's Office of Business Development, the city has engaged a consultant with a background in historic preservation and architecture to assist in developing guidelines for the program.
"We are looking at each building," Bialecki says, "but there are clearly common elements we are looking at for each street. Each block has a unique character."
As an example, he points out that Chapel Street is relatively narrow compared to, say, Church. A goal for Chapel might thus be to make it more intimate through the use of awnings and other things that would not be appropriate on Church. The aim of the façade program is therefore twofold: to redo the individual buildings, and to develop what are referred to as "blockfaces."
Meetings with property and business owners in the designated area will take place after Labor Day. Issues to be discussed will include signage, awnings, lighting and the elimination of solid security gratings. The program will expand to other parts of downtown when proceeds become available from the $25 million bonding package.
The city has also allocated $14 million for improvements to downtown streetscapes. Sections of Temple and Chapel streets already have new sidewalks, trees and pedestrian-level lighting. Work is now being bid out for sidewalks and overhead and pedestrian lighting on Chapel from Church to Orange. These will continue the streetscape treatments found in the Ninth Square. Work should begin in the fall of this year, with a goal of completion by spring of 2000.
Another major streetscape project that will make the center of downtown more attractive, convenient and safe is the Temple/Shubert Plaza, currently under construction. This will run from Temple Street through a new walkway to College Street. It will eliminate a former tunnel alongside the Shubert Performing Arts Center, and upgrade the old, poorly lit walkways linking Chapel, College and Crown streets to the Crown Street Garage.
The plaza will feature fountains and spaces created as sites for future sculpture, as well as access to new commercial spaces being developed in adjacent buildings.
Also contributing to the new historic ambiance of downtown will be a fleet of electric-propulsion vehicles with an antique-style trolley chassis. These will be used as shuttles between downtown, Union Station and the Long Wharf mall.
Purchase of two vehicles is planned within the present fiscal year, with 80 percent of the initial capital provided by the Greater New Haven Transit District, the Connecticut Transit Co., the state's Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration. The city will be responsible for the remaining 20 percent of the cost and all operating costs.
For the next fiscal year, funding will be sought for five additional vehicles. The first two trolleys should be in service by next August, according to Brian McGrath, the city's director of traffic and parking. The remainder of the fleet should arrive in time for the opening of the new mall. A nominal 25-cent fare has been proposed.
Improvements to the city's parking facilities and policies are also planned, to help make a more pleasant and inviting downtown more easily accessible as well (see related story, page 24). According to McGrath, one of the city's parking garages will undergo a total renovation, and two additional garages will be built.
Renovation of the Temple Street Garage, due to be completed in two years, will enable that facility to accommodate 1,200 cars. There are also proposals for a new 500-space garage in the Church/Elm/Wall area, and a new 1,000-space garage at Union Station. The financing and other elements of these two proposals remain to be finalized.
A "Free Customer Parking on Saturday" program was approved August 10 and will be inaugurated shortly, McGrath says. This will mean that parking at meters on downtown streets in retail areas will be free all day on Saturdays. Blocks featuring free parking will be clearly marked.
Other policy changes are also being implemented in order to provide better customer parking along downtown streets during the week. Parts of Chapel, College, Elm and Crown streets have had their time limits increased to two hours, with part of Church to follow suit soon. Some loading zones have been eliminated in order to free up additional spaces for shoppers. Perhaps most important, a stepped-up towing program is being implemented - effective immediately, according to McGrath - to insure that downtown employees do not park all day in retail customer time-limited areas.
"We will be checking marker numbers in the computer. If they have a history of violations, we tow," says McGrath. "We are no longer tolerating people paying the $10 tickets."
McGrath says his goal is two empty meters on every block at any given time.
The prospect of a new mall is an important event for New Haven. But equally as important to the city's sense of identity and civic pride is the renaissance of the city's historic downtown, already underway.
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