101 College Street–the Newest Element of New Haven Downtown Crossing Project Reaches Major Milestone Tonight
New Haven Board of Alders Approve Together, We Grow–Development and Land Disposition Agreement
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Tonight, as the City of New Haven works to create a resilient economy in light of the impacts of COVID-19, a Development and Land Disposition Agreement was presented for a second reading and approved by the New Haven Board of Alders. 101 College Street, a proposed 10-story, 400,000-500,000 square foot development consisting of lab, research, and incubator space in support of New Haven’s burgeoning bioscience economy, was passed unanimously.
“Planning for New Haven’s future amid the challenges associated with the COVID-19 public health crisis is difficult but vital for our future,” said Mayor Justin Elicker. “Our foremost priority continues to be managing and mitigating the devastating effects of this pandemic; however, we must continue to move forward to further establish New Haven as a significant bio-cluster hub in the State and innovation is the key to spark growth and create a significant rebound for our local economy,” he concluded.
At tonight’s meeting, the Alders had a second reading of the Together, We Grow Agreement, accepted the conveyance of land from the State of Connecticut and approved a Development and Land Disposition Agreement among the City of New Haven, the New Haven Parking Authority and Winstanley Enterprises 101 College Street LLC for the disposition and development of 101 College Street.
The terms of the agreement, all outlined in the Together, We Grow document discussed the number of new jobs the development will create, its impact on the City’s tax base, community benefits associated with the deal, and the construction timeline. The Board of Alders put forth important amendments, designated funding for scholarships. Career High School in the Hill neighborhood will be the feeder program to the BioPath initiative in conjunction with Gateway Community College and Southern Connecticut State University.
101 College Street is proposed to be built on a parcel of previously unusable land that was recently freed for development by Downtown Crossing’s extensive infrastructure work.
“We are grateful for the thoughtful work of the Board of Alders and City staff in the midst of these unprecedented times and in particular the Board’s efforts to connect New Haven residents to jobs and training in science and technology,” said Michael Piscitelli. “We are very excited to break ground on 101 College Street in the near future, and we look forward to working with our partners at the state and federal level to see the project through to completion in 2022.”
Highlights of the Community benefits package included in the “Together, We Grow” agreement:
Community Access
- Plaza is a public space available for outdoor programming, mentorship, and collaboration
- Dedicated Classroom for New Haven Public Schools
- Developer shall endeavor to create an incubator supporting community-based entrepreneurship
Workforce Ladders & Permanent Jobs Supports
- Mentoring program for New Haven students interested in construction-related jobs
- An innovation workforce pipeline to foster life science and technology career pathways for New Haven Public Schools
- A new support program designed to connect New Haven residents to various support service jobs at 101 College Street (in partnership with New Haven Works)
- Establishment of new pilot program, SOURCE NHV, designed to connect small local businesses to middle-markets through a brokerage service
Workforce Utilization for the Construction of 101 College Street
- Per City of New Haven Ordinance, the developer will be required to meet workforce utilization goals including hiring minimums of 25% New Haven residents, 25% minority, & 6.9 % women
- The developer will undertake a mentoring program for MBE/SBE contractors
- Members of the public are encouraged to learn more about the development, provide input and follow the approval process via online resources and virtual meeting links provided by the New Haven Department of Economic Development on the Downtown Crossing website: http://downtowncrossingnewhaven.com
About Downtown Crossing:
Downtown Crossing is a long-term, multi-phase public/private redevelopment project seeking to reconnect the City’s medical district and Hill neighborhood with the City’s central business district by converting a portion of Route 34–a limited-access highway connector–into urban boulevards and new city streets. Phase 2 is currently under construction, funded by a $21.5 million grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic Development (DECD) and $7 million from a $20 million TIGER 8 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). Phase 2 primarily involves the construction of new intersections at Orange Street at MLK Boulevard and Orange Street at South Frontage Road. The public infrastructure improvements and other planned enhancements coordinate with the private redevelopment of the old New Haven Coliseum site at 275 Orange Street.
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