Elm City Lofts: 242 Affordable Units Plan Advances

A developer duo’s plan to build 242 affordable apartments on former industrial land in Newhallville cleared another hurdle this week, as Vesta Corporation and Vallone Ventures asked the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals for permission to put food-related retailers on the ground floor of the proposed complex.

The project, to be called Elm City Lofts, is planned for two adjacent properties on Shelton Avenue. The first, at 71 Shelton Ave., is an empty lot that once housed a nuclear manufacturing facility. The second, at 89-91 Shelton Ave., is a deteriorating industrial building currently occupied by artists, musicians, and a rock climbing gym. Alders have already rezoned both properties and approved a tax-break arrangement, pushing the project into its next phase.

Attorney Carolyn Kone, representing the developers, told the BZA on Tuesday that the project involves three separate structures. In addition to rehabilitating a former Winchester Repeating Arms factory, the developers plan to construct two podium-style buildings on the vacant lot. One would rise four stories and hold 60 units; the other would stand five stories and contain 84 units. The food-related retail spaces would occupy two ground-floor storefronts in the shorter building, each measuring roughly 1,075 square feet.

All 242 units will be reserved for households earning below the area median income, which works out to $67,920 for a family of four, according to Vesta Vice President Joshua Greenblatt. Of those, 48 units would be restricted to households earning below 50 percent of that threshold. The complex would include 265 parking spaces, with some reserved for visitors.

Kone requested the special exception to allow food specialty stores and restaurants at the site, arguing that the storefronts would serve both the apartment community and the broader Newhallville neighborhood, where dining and grocery options are limited. BZA member Gaston Neville raised the question of whether the developers had considered bringing in a full grocery store. Kone said the spaces were simply too small for that, but she expects any retailers they select to offer fresh food, including fruit, vegetables, coffee, and prepared foods.

Joseph Vallone, who serves as the project’s architect, said he designed an outdoor plaza with seating and greenery adjacent to the storefronts, with the space open to the entire neighborhood rather than restricted to residents.

Emily Sigman, a city parks commission member who lives nearby on Dixwell Avenue, spoke positively about the affordable housing component but pushed the developers to think bigger on the retail side. “I love that there’s a focus on affordable housing,” she said. “I would love to see” the developers create “even more retail spaces open to the public.” She raised a concern that nearby apartment buildings “feel walled off from the rest of the city,” signaling that the neighborhood wants a project that actively engages the surrounding streets rather than turning its back on them.

The stakes for Newhallville are real. The neighborhood has seen industrial parcels sit dormant for years, and the sites on Shelton Avenue represent a significant opportunity to add housing in a city where below-market-rate units are perpetually in short supply. New Haven’s broader affordability pressures have only intensified, and a 242-unit development reserved entirely for below-AMI households is not a small thing.

At the same time, the ground-floor activation question matters. Mixed-income neighborhoods benefit from retail that draws foot traffic, creates informal gathering space, and signals that a block is worth investing in. Sigman’s concern about projects feeling “walled off” reflects a pattern that planners and residents across New Haven have flagged for years. Two 1,075-square-foot storefronts are a start, but whether they generate genuine street life will depend heavily on who ends up leasing the space and what hours they keep.

The BZA had not yet issued a decision on the special exception as of Tuesday’s hearing. If approved, Elm City Lofts would move closer to construction on a stretch of Shelton Avenue that has waited a long time for something to replace what was lost when the old manufacturing economy left.