New Haven officials joined with a local developer Monday to celebrate the grand opening of Whitney Modern, a new 42-unit apartment community on Whitney Avenue.
The development includes the historic Abner Hendee home at 703 Whitney Ave.
Developer Nancy Greenberg purchased the property about three years ago from the New Haven Chapter of the American Red Cross, which had been there for six decades.
Mayor Justin Elicker was among the dignitaries participating in Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“It is sites like this that help us move our city forward in a direction to benefit everyone,” Elicker said. “I am very optimistic about the future of New Haven, as long as we continue to support projects like this which are attracting people to our city.”
Elicker noted that Greenberg is one of a small percentage of female developers in the nation.
“We are very happy you are the lead on this project,” he told her at the event.
Michael Piscitelli, the city’s economic development administrator, said the project is putting the property back on the city’s tax rolls, while “providing very much-needed housing.”
The Hendee home, a mansion built in 1902, has been renovated into seven apartments. The developer preserved many aspects of the historic design, such as original paneling, marble fireplaces and hardwood floors, while also providing modern amenities.
Hendee had been a wealthy grain merchant, and the mansion was later owned by a surgeon, Dr. William Verdi, one of the founders of the Hospital of Saint Raphael.
The Modern, a new construction built next to the original mansion, has an additional 35 apartments. It was designed as a “contemporary counterpoint” to the mansion’s more traditional architecture, according to the developer. The New York-based architectural firm of Gluck+, led by Yale architecture graduate Peter Gluck, designed it.
A separate carriage house which sits behind the original home has been turned into a community amenity space for the complex, with a gym, TV room, yoga/game space, conference area and children’s play room.
The apartments feature different floor plans, with one and two bedrooms, and sizes ranging from 632 to 2,225 square feet.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
