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LCI's Man About Town
When it comes to bricks and mortar, Rizzo is New haven's go-to guy.
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Business New Haven
4/14/2003
By: BNH
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Executive director and building official of the Livable City Initiative (LCI) since October 2002, Andrew J. Rizzo Jr. has a background in construction, having owned a small construction company before becoming assistant building inspector for New Haven in 1990. Rizzo headed building departments in North Branford (1993) and Windsor (1995) before accepting the New Haven job in 1999.
What is the Livable City Initiative?
The Livable City Initiative is made of five departments, all of which deal with the quality of life in the neighborhoods of New Haven.
What initiatives is LCI focused on?
In the building department, we issue building permits, and as building official, I have authority to condemn buildings and order demolition. Housing code enforcement focuses on the city's housing code and inspections including Section 8 inspections, assuring that living conditions are up to housing code requirements. Neighborhood services deals with complaints about trash, illegal parking, houses that may be a danger to the neighborhood, as well as the maintenance of abandoned property. The property division does demolitions, and handles relocation of tenants of a condemned building. It also disposes of and acquires property. Once the city takes ownership of a property, the property division then attempts to dispose of the property and get it back into the public sector. Administrative services works with non-profit organizations, the citizens, loans and grant money. This division is also involved in the development of affordable homes.
How many properties is LCI responsible for?
The city is responsible for more than 300 properties. Many of these are vacant lots where buildings have been demolished. As far as buildings, there are probably about 50 that are taken care of by LCI.
How many demolitions does LCI conduct per year?
We are averaging 50 to 75 [demolitions] per year. These include buildings that are privately owned and I have determined they are a danger to the public's safety and welfare. The normal procedure is to give the owner the opportunity to comply with my order before demolition occurs.
Who pays for the demolitions?
The city has grant money for this. We [LCI] pay for the demolition, and then we lien the property. After the property is sold, the transaction is complete when the liens are taken care of. This is when we get our money back.
What is LCI working on now?
We are just completing four new single-family affordable homes on Pardee Street with a fifth to be built this summer. We have started renovations of 11 condominium units on Goffe Street. We hire the contractor who completes the renovations or construction and we monitor it. We are also getting ready to start six new single-family homes on Hallock Avenue and six new houses on Munson Street.
Who owns the properties?
We are not in the real estate or rental business. Every property we develop is sold to an owner occupant. We don't sell it to an owner who then will rent it; it must be owner occupied. Our mission at LCI is creating stronger neighborhoods, making New Haven a better place to live, work and raise a family by creating owner occupancy. This gives people who may not have an opportunity to buy a home under other circumstances, the ability to own their own home.
Does the city recapture the full value of the developments?
Usually it costs us more to do the rehab or build a new house because we have guidelines for low- to moderate-income [housing]. We use state and federal grant funds to bridge that gap. This determines how many properties we can do. Last spring we received a $7 million grant from the state for this. This is also money that we are using to work with non-profit developers who are doing the same type of work.
What is the status of the Church Street South project?
That was the project that a non-profit organization was going to redevelop. They were going to create housing in the city as well as the suburbs to accommodate the people that were living [in Church Street South]. Once the residents were moved out, the area was going to be demolished and replaced by a new development. That has been put on hold, however. The non-profit has been managing the complex and the city is looking at the possibility of some alternative ways to accomplish the goals of providing residents with alternate housing.
Since the [February 20] nightclub fire in Rhode Island, you have said building inspections have increased. Is it possible the same situation could occur in New Haven?
Absolutely. Are the chances of it not happening in New Haven better [since the increase in nightclub inspections]? Yes, definitely. I believe that between the building department and the fire marshal's office, we are very aware of these issues and always have been. We take great care in making sure that these places are safe. We make sure that all life-safety issues are in place, whether it's sprinklers, unblocked exits, fire alarm systems, and they are checked regularly.
Is there a rating system for urban housing stock? And if so, what is New Haven's?
New Haven has beautiful housing stock. There are not as many dilapidated buildings as there were in 1996. What we've done is cut down on the congestion in the city where in many cases, the houses are right on top of one another. When this occurs and the houses become dilapidated, we demolish them and instead of rebuilding, we create sliver lots. The lots are then split and given to the two neighbors. This gives people a little elbow room, a place to have their kids play, a place to have a garden. So I do think that the stock is getting better. In the last three years, we created almost 350 new affordable dwelling units either through new construction or rehabilitation.
Are people looking for affordable housing in the city, or in the suburbs?
I've heard it both ways. Some people want to stay in New Haven, where they've grown up. Others would rather move to Hamden or West Haven. The key is that New Haven has created more affordable housing in the last several years than any other place in the state. We would like to see some created in the suburbs, but we have no control over that. All we can do is continue along the course we've taken and create as much affordable housing in the city as we can.
What is the demand for housing generally in New Haven?
The demand is all over the city. I've seen an increase in the short time I've been here. Not only for affordable housing, but for market-rate housing. We are creating market housing downtown at an unprecedented level. New Haven, as far as I'm concerned, is the place to live if you want to live in a city.
Currently, what major residential developments are in action?
The former SNET [headquarters at 227 Church Street] is being converted into 13 floors of residential apartments with approximately more than 100 units. On the corner of Church and Chapel Street they are in the advanced planning stages of 84 market-rate units. They are also creating 22 units in the 900 Chapel Street tower, which will be either business or residential.
The plan to demolish the New Haven Coliseum is estimated to $10 million. Is this a realistic estimate?
I think it will be done with that amount of money. A good deal of the cost of demolition comes in remediating hazardous material. The Coliseum is mainly made out of steel and concrete, so I don't think there will be a problem with hazardous materials.
The building process generates permit revenue. How has that tracked in recent years?
It has been pretty steady. New Haven is unique and has Yale. Yale doesn't pay taxes so when it does construction it pays permit fees. On average, we get about $2 million a year in permit fees from Yale alone.
When Pfizer Inc. builds its new $35 million facility downtown, what will it yield in building permit revenue?
A building like that will probably have $20 million in construction costs, which will probably yield us approximately $350,000 to $400,000 in permit fees.
Are there different issues for handling the construction of medical and biotech facilities?
Yes, there are those issues and we would handle them. For instance, 300 George Street was turned into a biotech center. We have run into this many times and have become quite proficient at it. Building codes cover certain things and have sections that give us requirements we make sure are met. It's a combination of the three departments [building, fire and health] that are making sure that all the safety requirements are met.
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