A CT city is booming with massive redevelopment, apartments, biotech. See projects in the works.

A forlorn parking lot in downtown New Haven — once described as the “gap in the smile of State Street” — will soon be transformed into a new apartment building, rising in the shadow of the high-rise, residential rental tower at 360 State Street that marked a wave of new apartment construction nearly two decades ago.

“No parking lot is safe in New Haven,” Michael Piscitelli, the city’s economic development administrator, declared during a recent tour of New Haven development projects.

Piscitelli isn’t kidding. He is backed up by a city teeming with redevelopment — a mix of housing, laboratory and research space and storefronts — that is erasing asphalt and vacant lots. Perhaps the most prominent is the site of the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the heart of downtown, demolished in 2007 and used as a parking lot for more than a decade.

A new apartment building has taken shape on the Coliseum site and is now starting to lease, one of two dozen projects in and around downtown that are changing the landscape of the city and its skyline. Those development projects — with more on the drawing boards — represent more than $2.5 billion in public and private investment. They also are reconnecting gaps in a city that aims to be more walkable and less dependent on cars.

Since 2020, the city has added 1,900 residential rentals in and around downtown, and has another 3,500 units queued up in the pipeline in the next five years.

The housing is necessary, in large part, to support the biotech and life sciences industries that are soaring in prominence in the city, sparked largely by Yale University, Yale New Haven Hospital and their researchers.

Ancora L&G , which plans to build medical and laboratory space on the Coliseum site, is targeting life science companies involved in cell and gene therapy, and single-molecule biology. The developer sees an intersection of engineering and health, and devices that may come out of that, dovetailing with research at Yale and priorities for both the city and the state.

“New Haven is on fire and Connecticut is really doing well,” Josh Parker, Ancora’s chief executive, said. “Seeing this alignment really gives me a good feeling, obviously, but confidence in our ability to have a successful investment and see continued growth in that part of the state.”’

‘Grow fast and well’

In this city of 139,000, there is hope of reaching a population of more than 150,000 in the next decade, about the same time as New Haven marks 250 years as an incorporated city. New Haven’s population peaked at 162,000 in the 1940s and fell to a low of 126,000 in 1980.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said the city has learned from cities that have grown too rapidly, pushing out residents whose families may have lived in those cities for generations. But they can’t now because they can no longer afford to live in those cities.

“Don’t get me wrong, I want to grow fast,” Elicker said. “But I want to grow fast and well.”

Elicker said the focus on developing parking lots and vacant land minimizes residents being forced to move from their homes. The city was scarred from the forced relocation of nearly 8,000 families, about 23,000 people, during 1960s urban renewal, according to the 2008 book, “Model City Blues” by Mandi Isaacs Jackson. New Haven had been held up as a model of urban renewal.

Elicker, now in his third term, said he is keeping a close watch on affordability, as rents continue to rise with unabated strong demand for new apartments.

At downtown’s City Crossing, which has, so far, turned four city-owned parking lots and a former school building into more than 500 residential units, monthly rents for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit at the Pierpont building range between $2,635 and $2,943, according to the leasing web site.

Of the 1,900 housing units built since 2020, 360, or 40% were pegged as affordable, restricted to a range of income guidelines, according to the city. A similar percentage for the 3,500 that are forecast in the next five years, 40%, or 1,400, are expected to be affordable, the city says.

That count, Elicker said, does not include the 1,000 or more units planned for the former, now-demolished Church Street South, across from Union Station. The project is being developed by Elm City Communities, the city’s housing authority, and the Glendower Group.

“We also have to make sure that the price of the market doesn’t financially displace people,” Elicker said.

Elicker said the loss of parking lots will be balanced in the future by a city that offers more restaurants, shops, entertainment and cultural attractions that won’t require a motor vehicle to get around, supported by robust public transportation.

“It’s rare if I walk across the Green and someone stops me and they say, ‘We need more parking,’ Elicker said. “Out of every 10 people, seven people will bring up housing issues.”

‘Scale is reinventing’

New Haven’s redevelopment has turned, in large part, on reversing 1960s urban renewal that was supposed to usher in the era of the modern city. A linchpin of the urban renewal was the construction of the Oak Street Connector, Route 34, that was supposed to take travelers into suburbs like Derby and Orange but was never completed.

Highway construction served to isolate one portion of New Haven, just as it did in Hartford, hastening its decline.

“That era of the 1950s and early ’60s, New Haven as a Model City … the city tried to hit a grand slam, and so there was this really big move, the development of the Oak Street Connector and massive clearance, massive redevelopment, whereas what we’re seeing now is persistent, consistent development that is being done in smaller increments but in an ongoing and comprehensive way,” New Haven City Historian Michael Morand said.

Urban renewal in the 1960s focused on highways and vehicles, whereas the approach in the 21st century are cities that cater to designs that are more walkable, Morand said.

“Now the scale is reinventing, looking at people-level scale, pedestrian-level scale, making the city more livable downtown, not a place where people drive in and out for work and shopping but a place that has 24/7 activity because there are residents.”

The centerpiece Downtown Crossing project, with its two new bioscience research towers on College Street, shows not only a growing biotech industry but efforts to reconnect the two parts of downtown separated by Route 34.

The two towers — encompassing more a million square feet of research space — eliminated most remnants of Route 34 and a planned third building will complete the job.

Atop 101 College, owner and developer Carter Winstanley, of Boston-based Winstanley Enterprises , points out a window to the Yale School of Medicine, Yale New Haven Hospital and the City Crossing apartment development, all clustered together.

“So you have this great collaborative community of medical hospitals and private-sector research and development all playing a very close role together and that’s what makes these sites successful,” Winstanley said. “The residential is just a bonus, having more people coming into the downtown choosing to work downtown, but also to live.”

Supporting ‘tech transfer’

The unfolding development in New Haven has benefited from a unified vision spanning three mayoral administrations, beginning in 1994 with John DeStefano Jr., Morand, the city historian, said.

DeStefano, who served as mayor until 2014, said the roots of the city’s current revitalization can, in part, be traced back to Yale’s decision in the 1990s to shift its focus.

“What happened was both the city and the university saw the importance of workforce and business development, particularly through tech transfer, particularly in the life and biosciences,” DeStefano said.

“Now that gets expressed today in the buildings that you see in the Route 34 right-of-way, the buildings that you see in Science Park,” he said. “So the university changed its focus to supporting tech transfer, its faculty and staff in that regard. The city began to accommodate the need to grow the campus in a much less constrained way than in the past.”

Tech transfer is the path by which new inventions and other innovations created in the labs of research universities and other institutions are turned into products and sold commercially.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals was one high-profile spinoff from Yale in the 1990s. New Haven suffered a setback when it moved its headquarters to Boston. But Winstanley said Alexion, now owned by industry giant  AstraZeneca, still has a significant presence in the two College Street towers, leasing a combined 330,000 square feet, or a third of the total research space.

Winstanley said the city scored a coup when 101 College signed a lease with BioLabs , which operates serviced and equipped lab space for early stage life science companies to launch their operations. BioLabs moved into 101 College in February and will soon have 12 occupants in 41,000 square feet of shared lab space.

“There’s a huge boom in the bioscience industry here, with companies spinning out of Yale, some success stories like Arvinas,” Mary Ann Melnick, site head of the BioLabs in New Haven, said. “We thought this was a great opportunity for BioLabs to come to New Haven and then put one of our facilities here to really support the ecosystem here. … Seeing the spinoffs coming out of Yale, there’s a lot of potential.”

Beyond downtown, redevelopment at Science Park, the former Winchester Repeating Arms Co. factory, also is focused on biotech and quantum science, which is expected to lead to advanced computing and ultra-precise measuring equipment. One of the largest apartment construction projects in the city, at 283 rentals, is now under construction.

Trails by 8 years

To the north, 40 miles away, Hartford is pursuing its own revitalization, adding more than 3,000 apartments in and around downtown in the past decade. The city built Dunkin’ Park, a ballpark that is home to the Yard Goats, the Double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. A storefront revitalization program is drawing new tenants to long vacant shops throughout the city, the epicenter at downtown’s Pratt Street.

Hartford differs from New Haven in significant ways. Hartford’s mainstay industries — insurance and financial services — are more mature than biotech, but they are attracting fintech companies, including those developing new, technology-driven ways to assess risk.

Hartford, as the state capital, also hosts far more government offices. The predominance of downtown office space also has raised a new challenge in the aftermath of the pandemic, with high vacancies as more office employees spend more time working from home.

Hartford also lacks the deep pockets of Yale University.

But Randy Salvatore, founder and chief executive of Stamford-based RMS Cos. , sees similarities, having built apartments in both cities — City Crossing in New Haven and North Crossing and others n Hartford.

The rental demand remains extremely strong in both cities, with occupancy at 95% or better in his projects, Salvatore said.

Salvatore estimates Hartford may be trailing New Haven by about eight years in redevelopment efforts.

“But New Haven was late to it too,” Salvatore said. “Stamford started 20 years ago.”

Here are 10 projects changing the landscape and the skyline in New Haven:

1. 101 College St.

Cost: $151 million

Developer: Winstanley Enterprises, Concord, Mass.

Completion: late 2023

What it is : The recently completed, 10-story building contains medical/laboratory research space encompassing more than 500,000 square feet. AstraZeneca’s Alexion Pharmaceuticals division, Yale University and BioLabs, a 50,000-square-foot incubator, are all tenants. Alexion was a spinoff from Yale.

Why it matters: 101 College is the second of two structures that anchor Downtown Crossing, a development that removed the remnants of the never completed Route 34, a failed urban renewal project from the 1960s that split the downtown in two.

The project provides pedestrian connections with an outdoor plaza and public walkway joining College and Temple streets. BioLabs is designed to support biotech startups and maturing companies, plus provides a laboratory classroom for the New Haven Public Schools.

2. Science at Square 10

Address: 265 South Orange St.

Cost: $127 million

Developer: Ancora L&G, Durham, N.C.

Completion: 2026

What it is: This project, known as “Science at Square 10,” will add another 250,000 square feet of medical/laboratory research space on a portion of the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum, demolished in 2007. The development will be within walking distance of both Union Station and the Medical District. The Medical District is anchored by Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale School of Medicine. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

Why it matters: The development offers prospects for the downtown to grow and better connect to Union Station and the Medical District. The structure’s design by New Haven-based Pelli Clarke Pelli is promoted as “world class” by the city.

Ancora is a developer that nationally focuses on cities with reputations for innovation supported by institutions of higher learning, health care and research centers.

3. Anthem at Square 10

Address: 275 South Orange St.

Cost: $39 million

Developer: Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, Norwalk

Completion: 2024

What it is: Anthem at Square 10 is the first of two,\ mixed-use residential buildings planned for the former Coliseum site and will include 200 apartments over retail space.

Pre-leasing for the apartments is underway and the first retail tenant — a restaurant — has been signed for the ground level. A second building with 100 apartments wrapped around a parking garage also is planned. In addition, there is potential for further future redevelopment.

Why it matters: The development is critical to reclaiming one of the largest blocks in downtown — used for parking for nearly two decades —  that will be broken down with a street design that will form a pedestrian-friendly connection between downtown and Union Station.

4. The Mason at City Crossing

Address: 188 Lafayette St.

Cost: $19 million

Developer: RMS Cos., Stamford

Completion: Early Summer

What it is: The building, now nearly complete, will add 112 market-rate apartments with three levels of parking, two of them underground.

Why it matters: The seven-story apartment building is the sixth to be built in the City Crossing development and is a block from the redevelopment on College Street. The apartments replaced parking lots that had existed for decades. City Crossing included the conversion of one structure — a historic school — into residential rentals.

For The Mason at City Crossing, developer Randy Salvatore negotiated a ground lease with the lot’s owner, Yale University, allowing a development that will put the property back onto the tax rolls.

5. Winchester Green

Cost: $90 million

Developer: Twining Properties and LMXD, both of New York

Completion: End of 2025.

What it is: Winchester Green is a 283-unit mixed-income apartment development that broke ground in March on the sprawling former Winchester Repeating Arms Co. factory complex.

The project, which will also include community-oriented retail, is part of a larger development by the Science Park Development Corp. Science Park is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership that includes Yale University, the city of New Haven, Olin Corp. and the state of Connecticut.

Why it matters: Redevelopment of the manufacturing complex, closed in 1981, draws on its past as an office park but makes the transition to 21st-century innovation, focused on biotech. Winchester Green is one of the largest residential projects under construction in the city.

The apartments will come in addition to 158 apartments, 150,000 square feet of lab space — now fully leased — and office space in two existing buildings. When complete, the area — known as Winchester Center — is expected to include 1,000 apartments, shops and restaurants, parks and a half million square feet of additional lab space.

6. 300 State St.

Cost: $56 million

Developer: Beacon Communities, Boston

Completion: Late 2025

What it is: This development, which broke ground earlier this month, will create 76 apartments. The majority will be pegged to tenants with incomes ranging from at or below 30% to 60% of the area’s median income in the city’s Ninth Square district. The project will create 19,000 square feet of street-level commercial space

Why it matters: The project, at the pivotal corner of State and Chapel streets, will transform a parking lot, an eyesore. and a largely vacant neighboring building along Chapel into much-needed affordable housing. The project is within walking distance of local restaurants, shops, bus stops and the State Street train station.

The development further strengthens the residential fabric of Ninth Square and connects to Wooster Square.

7. Union Square

Cost: To be determined

Developer: Elm City Communities/New Haven Housing Authority; Glendower Group, New Haven

Completion: To be determined

What it is: A redevelopment of 13 acres across from Union Station — the former, now demolished Church Street South housing complex — could include more than 1,000 units of mixed-income housing that would be built in phases.

There would be a focus on providing “deeply affordable” rents for people who earn below 30% of the area median income. The redevelopment also includes the aging Wolfe Building on nearby Union Avenue, which eventually will be torn down. Plans are expected to take shape by November.

Why it matters: The Church Street South housing complex was demolished in 2018 after years of neglect. The tract of land is the largest that is undeveloped near the train station. Union Square would replace crucial affordable housing lost in the demolition and meet a commitment allowing former tenants of Church Street South to return.

8. Union Station

Cost: To be determined

Developer: To be determined

Completion: To be determined

What it is: The project has secured more than $30 million in state grants to support and attract private investment.

The project’s scope is broad and is expected to include a major renovation of the station, including its first sit-down restaurant; a potential, mixed-use residential tower on the east lot; and a new center for buses and shuttles on the west lot located in a lower level beneath a parking garage to replace the east lot. The residential tower would be the first new non-transportation construction at Union Station.

Why it matters: Union Station is considered among the top 20 stations nationwide for Amtrak and major stations for both Metro-North and CT Rail, all of which converge in New Haven. The improvements are planned to create a more welcoming arrival to New Haven, and a stronger base for commuters and leisure riders traveling to and from New York City.

9. Science Hill

Cost: $1 billion-plus

Developer: Yale University

Completion: 2034

What it is: The project includes an expansion of the Wright Lab, which focuses on cutting-edge research in physics; a new Advanced Instrumentation Development Center; and a new physical science and engineering building.

Why it matters: The project is one of the largest in Yale’s 322-year history and is intended to solidify Yale as long-term strategic leader in quantum science and related fields of research. Quantum science focuses on the study of the smallest particles in nature and is expected to broaden understanding of the universe in the future and lead to new technology, including advanced computers and ultra-precise measuring devices.

10. Residences at Canal Place

Cost: $37 million

Developer: RJ Development + Advisors, New Haven

Completion: Late 2024

What it is: This project will create 176 apartments as part of a mixed-use, mixed-income development in the Dixwell neighborhood along the Farmington Canal Line and near Science Park.

Why it matters: The development will add to the city’s supply of much-needed affordable housing without displacement of current residents. Affordable units account for 50 of the apartments, or nearly 30%, higher than the typical privately-financed development.

SOURCES: City of New Haven, Elm City Communities, developers, Hartford Courant reporting

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com . Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com .