Our friends from the Yale School of Architecture have been hard at work, too! Students created a website with lots of information about the Armory, though it’s still a work in progress, so bear with us. They also produced a fantastic video and an animation that imagines what it could look like to open up the Drill Hall. We’re also attaching a report compiled by students from the Yale School of Management that summarizes our public meetings.
Recently, Mayor Justin Ellicker has said that the New Haven Board of Education will use the Armory for career-centered learning. This could be great! And it shows that the City wants to maintain a strong role in the building’s future. Mayor Ellicker also expressed that he would like to see housing in the Armory, an idea we have discussed in our meetings.
Even with the Board of Education and new Housing taking space in the Armory, there will still be room for additional community-driven programs and activities and the Drill Hall could continue to serve as a marquee public space with different programming throughout the year. There are so many opportunities ahead and there will be further opportunities to voice our ideas and desires for the Armory
It’s good timing, because with the help of our community group, the City has secured funding from the State of Connecticut to conduct community planning for the Armory. The City will be issuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and/or a Request for Proposals (RFP) for consultants to help guide us through the next steps. This will include funding for crucial reports necessary to revitalize this irreplaceable community asset, like a financial feasibility report. One goal would be to successfully apply for a Capital Grant from the State’s Community Investment Fund (CIF) that would allow the City to renovate the building to a “Gray Box” status: safe and accessible to the public and prepared for further renovations.
In short, we will have more chances to gather as a community to advocate for the programs and activities we want to see in the Armory. We are looking forward to collectively working on this, and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together. Please stay tuned; we will post updates to this mailing list and to our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Armorycac.
If you know someone who should be on this mailing list, please write to goffestreetarmory@gmail.com. If you would like to volunteer in our ongoing efforts to advocate for the Armory–or if you have any questions or concerns to share–it would also be great to hear from you. Finally, if you have Armory memories to share, stories from your experiences with the building, please write; we would love to interview you for an Armory Oral History Project!
Sending our best to all of you!
Warm regards,
Elihu Rubin
On behalf of the Armory Community Advisory Committee (AC2)
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