Elihu Rubin and Nadine Horton, two members of the Armory Community Advisory Committee, have spent many years advocating for the revival of the Armory.
Gov. Ned Lamont: “If a cat has nine lives, how many does the Goffe Street Armory have?”
More than a dozen city and state officials gathered outside the Goffe Street Armory on Friday and announced plans to spend a $6.75 million state grant on repairing the huge, derelict building and repurposing the structure into affordable housing units, community spaces, and a vocational training school.
Officials also said they do not yet have an estimated total cost for the project, or a sense of when it would be completed.
“The Armory is part of New Haven’s history, and we are committed to ensuring that it continues to be a part of our history moving forward,” Mayor Justin Elicker said during Friday’s press conference. He stood beside Gov. Ned Lamont, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Beaver Hills Alder Gary Hogan, State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney, and State Reps. Steven Winter, Al Paolillo, and Toni Walker.
The flock of elected officials was joined by city staffers and members of the Armory Community Advisory Committee (ACAC), which has worked to revive the historic building since 2018.
City Economic Development Administrator Mike Piscitelli said his best estimate for the price of the overall project is “a lot.” In 10 weeks, after the city completes a $250,000 planning study funded by another state grant, Piscitelli expects to have a better sense of how much each of the three planned uses will cost.
During Friday’s press conference, Piscitelli confirmed that the city plans to repurpose the building into affordable housing and simulated learning spaces for Career-Connected Pathways, a vocational program run by the New Haven Public Schools.
In a simulated learning environment, kids practice on “state-of-the-art equipment,” which is what “we’re hoping” that “kids are going to be able to do right here inside of these walls,” said Supt. Madeline Negrón. “With this project, we are directly investing in our students’ futures and in the long-term economic health of New Haven.” As it stands, the spaces will simulate professional settings in the healthcare, hospitality, tourism, transportation, distribution, logistics, architecture, and construction fields.
Piscitelli said the remainder of the building would be dedicated to community events and programming. While there’s still a lot of uncertainty in what those spaces will look like, ACAC member Elihu Rubin said the drill hall would “continue to serve as a great, big room for the city.”
Built in 1930, the New Haven Armory has served as the venue for Governor Wilbur Cross’s inauguration, the state’s Tercentenary Ball, the state’s Black Expo, and performances from Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder. It also housed the National Guard during the Black Panther trials and provided temporary shelter to people without stable housing.
New Haven assumed ownership of the building in 2010. It now stands vacant, severely dilapidated, and surprisingly chilly inside.
To achieve a state of good repair, $6.75 million “doesn’t do the entire work, but it allows us to get started,” said Piscitelli. The money will be used primarily on fixing the building’s mechanics and roof.
Looney — a co-chair of the Community Investment Fund committee, which, alongside the state Department of Economic Community Development, decided to award the city with a $6.75 million grant for the armory — described the restoration as “a consensus project that had a lot of support.” When asked whether a private partnership might be needed to complete the rehabilitation, he said that he first needs to see the city’s plans. “There’s such potential here, just because it is such a large space” and “it’s been unused for so long,” said Looney.
Walker, who grew up nearby on Carmel Street, remembered the building as a one-stop shop for people in need. One of her fondest memories was from a charity toy drive during Christmas.
“I had never seen that many kids at one place,” exclaimed Walker. “And the donations that we got! I mean, the firefighters, and there were a couple of biker gangs that brought trucks and toys and bicycles,” simply because “they wanted kids to have a Christmas.”
The drill room is filled with asbestos, lead, and…pigeon poop.
Elicker said that most of the building isn’t safe to walk through.
The press conference brought together more than a dozen elected officials, community advocates, and Dixwell residents.