New Haven

Plan to convert Firehouse 19 into mixed-use building in New Haven on hold

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The future of Firehouse 19 on Edwards Street remains unclear after New Haven’s Board of Zoning Appeals denied a developer's zoning requests.

New Haven developer Albert Annunziata proposed building 23 apartments along with retail space on the first floor at Firehouse 19.

In order to build, Annunziata asked the city for variances that would allow him to build a 60-foot sidewall instead of the 40-feet allowed and to extend the property line by three feet five inches.

The variance request was denied on Tuesday at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, after the commission found the hardship requirement had not been met.

Laura Brown, the executive director of the City of New Haven’s planning department, explained how the city defines hardship.

“As defined in the zoning ordinance; where there is difficulty or unreasonable hardship in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the zoning ordinance, the Board of Zoning Appeals has power to provide it,” Brown said.

Nate Hougrand, the director of zoning for the City of New Haven, explained some of the options the developer has moving forward.

“Utilizing the existing structure, they’d be permitted to do no more than six dwelling units using the standard regulations for the BZA Zone. If they decide to use the inclusionary bonuses, they can do as much as 10 dwelling units, this would still require a site plan review through the city planning commission,” Hougrand said.

In the East Rock neighborhood, residents and business owners were concerned by the proposal.

Mohammed Akbar of Vintage Deli and Convenience on State Street said the proposal as it stands would not fit into the look of the neighborhood.

“There are certain areas in New Haven or East Haven that should be how they are, you can’t just change everything how you want it to be," Akbar said.

He added parking spaces would also be an issue, as the area already is lacking in parking.

"We're already scarce of parking around here, if we get like 23 apartments, it's going to be a lot of mess,” Akbar said.

Meantime, Augustine Filomena, who has lived in the house behind Firehouse 19 for 20 years, agreed with Akbar, saying a 60-foot building would ruin the building’s historic look.

“I feel that this is really going to detract from the beautiful architecture that we have in this historical building,” Filomena said. 

Filomena said he is not against the developer and hopes it returns with a better design.

“The developer has an opportunity to make this a legacy project for himself. He can make this a beautiful, beautiful building," Filomena said.

Laura Brown with the City of New Haven said it's good for the city to consider these proposals, as they open the way for larger discussions.

"It would be important for the city to build these sort of units whether they are market rate or affordable in order to address the housing crisis, but the bigger picture here is these applications allow us to have these larger conversations with neighbors,” Brown said.

In an email, the developer said he is consulting with his team and working on a new plan to move the development forward.

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