The timing for College & Crown reflects the resurgence of downtown New Haven, which has benefited from the city's lower crime rate, greater commercial office space, and increased retail. All created demand for a quality rental building.
© Robert Benson Photography The timing for College & Crown reflects the resurgence of downtown New Haven, which has benefited from the city's lower crime rate, greater commercial office space, and increased retail. All created demand for a quality rental building.

New Haven, Conn., may be best known for Yale University and a wealth of pizza parlors, but, nowadays, the city has also become a busy hub for the 130,000-plus residents who make downtown a beehive of day- and nighttime activity. New Haven’s leaders in the early part of this century helped lower the area’s crime rate, which encouraged investment by making it a more pro-business environment.

The city’s social and economic transformation is reflected in the expansion of Yale’s School of Medicine campus; the return of Alexion Pharmaceuticals (which started in the city, moved to the suburbs, and then came back again), with its new headquarters and research-operations building; and the construction of a brand-new performing-arts high school designed by “starchitect” César Pelli. New retail and restaurants, and a TOD multifamily high-rise that opened in 2010 and leased up more quickly than expected, are also part of the revival.

Design Sympatico
Developers Robert Landino, Jason S. Rudnick, and Yves Joseph of Centerplan Development Co., based in nearby North Haven, bought a prime site on College Street in 2007 with surface parking and a bar. The plan was to construct a combination hotel and condominium. The subsequent economic downturn convinced them that a low-rise, five-story rental building with retail and parking would be a better fit for grad students and professionals wanting to walk to school or work.

The older-millennial crowd wants a choice of indoor gathering spaces for unwinding or studying, and since the development is near a major university, a library space with bookshelves and reading areas seemed de rigueur.
Courtesy Centerplan Development Co. The older-millennial crowd wants a choice of indoor gathering spaces for unwinding or studying, and since the development is near a major university, a library space with bookshelves and reading areas seemed de rigueur.

“The site had been an eyesore and was a hole in the fabric of downtown New Haven near the hospital. We knew we needed to activate street activity,” says Joseph.

The team tapped local architects Svigals + Partners to design the College & Crown building as a transition between the low-rise 1916 Shubert Theater and the 12-story Alexion. "We wanted to make a design statement but one that would belong,” says Rudnick.

Classical Tweaks
The original buildings on Yale's main college campus may be predominantly Collegiate Gothic style architecture, but New Haven’s downtown buildings have a plethora of brick, which became the inspiration for College & Crown’s façade. To make the new building look edgier, project architect and managing partner Jay Brotman selected variegated brick; designed sculptural cornices that play up the city’s harbor history; and used a combination of recesses, varied heights, and windows to break up the structure’s geometric massing.

To gain the 20,000 square feet of street-level retail, along with surface parking (in addition to underground parking), but stay within the budget, the team used stick-built construction for the apartment levels atop a concrete podium.

Though the New Haven climate can be cold, people still want to get outside come spring and summer, and College & Crown offers a choice of quiet or lively patios and courtyards.
© Robert Benson Photography Though the New Haven climate can be cold, people still want to get outside come spring and summer, and College & Crown offers a choice of quiet or lively patios and courtyards.

Focused Amenities
Another way to keep to the budget and make units affordable was to conduct a market analysis to learn which amenities would appeal to the target market the most and drop the others. The winning features were a clubhouse and community room with different activity zones, a fitness center, and two patios. The building was also outfitted with fiber-optic broadband with fast Wi-Fi, a prime wish of the occupant cohort.

Landscape architect Dominick Celtruda, project manager with BL Cos. out of Meriden, Conn., made the sidewalks wide and used specified trees for a promenade feel to increase street activity. He also designed the courtyards for sunlight, function, and privacy and optimized storm drainage as part of the plan to make the building green. Though the team didn’t seek LEED certification, state building code commends certain choices, which here include reusing an urban site and providing access to mass transit. “You don’t need a car [here],” says Rudnick.

Finishes in the building's residential kitchens include granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, and designer lighting.
Courtesy Centerplan Development Co. Finishes in the building's residential kitchens include granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, and designer lighting.

Quality in Everything
Because of the targeted older-millennial audience, the developers knew to make the shared-amenity spaces a focus. In College & Crown’s public areas, designer JoAnn McInnis, vice president of Carlyn & Co. in Great Falls, Va., went with a clean, modern look, including a clubhouse library area with bookshelves and cozy seating for relaxation or study.

Inside the residential units, the team chose quality finishes that also help make the units appear larger, along with open-style plans for living areas. The building’s studios and one- and two-bedrooms range from 460 square feet for $1,700 a month to 3,330 square feet for $4,000 on the penthouse level.

As of this writing, the apartments were 90% leased and the retail space half filled.