by Thomas Breen The New Haven independent
New Haven won a key state vote of support this week to receive $6.75 million to help convert the vacant Goffe Street Armory into a new vocational-technical school.
That vote was taken on Tuesday by the Community Investment Fund 2030 board, which OK’d the Goffe Street Armory money as part of a new round of funding awards for 32 economic development projects across Connecticut.
The State Bond Commission still needs to approve these funds before they become final. That commission is next slated to meet on Oct. 31.
“The Goffe Street Armory is one of New Haven’s most iconic buildings with a storied history that unfortunately, over the decades, has fallen into disrepair,” Mayor Justin Elicker told the Independent in an email comment for this story.
“Working with the community, we’ve been advancing a transformative plan to bring the armory back to life and return it to public use. It’s an enormous 155,000 square foot space that can serve a variety of purposes. These plans include new housing units, a new vo-tech school and other potential community uses.
“Now, with this $6.75 million state grant, we’ll be able to bring the building back to a state of good repair, which will then allow us to then advance these other plans.”
Elicker said that the grant has been “years in the making,” and thanked “members of Armory Community Advisory Committee, neighborhood residents, our Economic Development team, our alders, and our state legislators” for helping advance this effort.
City spokesperson Lenny Speiller said that this grant, when finalized, will be used to fund rehabilitation work that is needed to “return the building to base condition for phased reuse.” To quote directly from Speiller’s comment, that work will include:
• Core / shell work (stabilizing the exterior brownstone and repointing the masonry)
• Roof stabilization (parapet repair, roof repair so it is water-tight, and related work)
• Abatement (asbestos removal, mold remediation, and related work)
• ADA and code compliance (sprinklers, fire alarms, ADA-complaint ramps, elevators, and related work)
“Of particular note,” Speiller added, “this will allow for the reactivation the historic drill hall, one of New Haven’s largest indoor civic spaces – and for three future uses of the armory.”
Click here to read more about the city’s plans to convert the armory into a vo-tech school, and click here to read about a $250,000 CIF state-funded planning grant the city received in 2023 to support a “community-driven redevelopment process,” which is still underway.