Community September 09, 2010
YNHH helps with Hill revitalization
On August 24, YNHH was part of a celebratory groundbreaking that will result in a new 104-unit, mixed-income housing complex called Rowe Residences. It will create 26 market-rate apartments and 78 subsidized apartments that will house about 46 elderly or disabled tenants now living in the outdated high-rise building at 904 Howard Avenue. When the new apartments open in fall 2011, the building at 904 Howard will be demolished.
The project, which includes retail space on the ground floor, will cost $36 million, and relies in part on a competitively-won federal stimulus grant.
This project is unique because it is a joint effort of local organizations and state and federal agencies. In addition to YNHH, partners include the New Haven Housing Authority, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, as well as private investors, developers and builders and the building's tenant association.
YNHH's contribution involved a land-swap. The hospital owned the property - between Ward Street and Howard, Legion and Sylvan avenues - on which the new Rowe Residences will be built. YNHH exchanged that property with the city for 904 Howard Avenue property for future use.
The 904 property will be turned over to Yale- New Haven Hospital following the successful completion of the new Rowe Housing and after the city demolishes the current building. Yale- New Haven Hospital should take ownership of the parcel in mid-2013.
"This was mutually beneficial to everyone involved - especially the tenants of 904 Howard," said Norman Roth, senior vice president, Administration. "Residents will not be displaced and the neighborhood will gain a new residential complex."
"We are investing in our neighborhood in a serious and thoughtful way," said Richard D'Aquila, executive vice president and COO. "In addition to this project and our three Habitat for Humanity homes, we will continue to fund community investments that support our community revitalization. It is really exciting to see our neighborhood change and become a safer, more comfortable place to live and work."
