Two projects by developer Paul Denz’s Northside Development Co. promise to transform lower Chapel Street between Church and State streets.
The City Plan Commission last month approved a seven-story, 120-unit apartment complex at 842-848 Chapel Street, owned by Denz affiliate Mid Block Development LLC. Also in the works is a 46-unit apartment development at 808 Chapel Street, at the intersection of Orange, a project of Denz’s Corner Block Development LLC.
Both projects have been green-lighted by the City Plan Commission in terms of size, scale and design, said city Interim Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli. A small portion of both lots is owned by the city (Denz previously acquired the bulk of both lots); the Board of Alders is expected to hold a public hearing on the sale of the remaining property to Northside. A vote by the full board to approve the sale is likely to come in September, Piscitelli said.
The projects promise revitalization for a block of Chapel between Church and Orange left partly vacant following a 2007 fire that necessitated demolition of two structures, including the former Kresge department store, that left a yawning hole mid-block shortly after Denz acquired the property.
The mid-block, half-acre parcel would house five stories of apartments atop street-level retail and an underground parking facility with 55 spaces for automobiles and an additional 45 spaces for bicycles.
The apartments would include 66 studio units of 400-450 square feet, 41 one-bedroom apartments with 700 to 750 square feet of living space and 13 two-bedroom units of about 1,400 square feet.
Northside has said the smallest studios would rent for $1,200-$1,250 monthly.
The next phase of the development on the block would be 46 apartment units to be constructed at 808 Chapel Street, at the intersection of Orange. The units would include a mixture of studio, one- and two-bedroom units, with three commercial units on the ground floor.
For decades Church Street has marked the demarcation line separating Chapel Street opposite the Green and westward from its more downscale “lower” Chapel cousin. But transformation is proceeding. At 770 Chapel coworking space the Grove (reborn as Agora) and “makerspace” Maker Haven have brought new energy to the block between Orange and State streets, while a potpourri of independent retailers has filled in the block between Church and Orange, especially on the north side of the street.
But the south side of the same block “has been kind of broken up with the vacant lots for some time,” said Piscitelli. At the beginning of this month, chain retailer Dollar Tree pulled the plug on its store at 852 Chapel. The rebirth of 808 Chapel and 842-848 on the same block should bring redevelopment up to speed.
Denz also owns the 18-story former New Haven Savings Bank headquarters building at 195 Church Street.
Contact Michael Bingham at mbingham@newhavenbiz.com
