According to the city’s current plans, the building’s west wing will be dedicated to vocational training, while the east wing will serve as housing.
As the city moves forward with allocating a $6.75 million state grant on repairs to the Goffe Street Armory, Alexandra Taylor, a New Haven resident of over 40 years, hopes it will become a space where she and her two young kids can make art.
That was one of the many ideas floated on Monday at Hillhouse High School, where over 30 people gathered to share their visions for revitalizing the long-vacant, derelict building.
The New Haven Armory, built in 1930, has been owned by the city since 2010. In January, city officials announced their plans to spend nearly $7 million in state grants on rehabilitating the building into a state of good repair. At a press conference, city Economic Development Advisor Mike Piscitelli acknowledged that, while more money would eventually be needed to complete repairs, the current funds were enough to begin fixing the building’s roof and mechanical systems.
Those repairs, according to city officials, will mark the first step towards repurposing the building into affordable housing units and simulated learning spaces for Career-Connected Pathways, a vocational program run by the New Haven Public Schools. Under that plan, the building’s remaining space — which includes the drill hall — will be dedicated to community uses.
Those community uses were the subject of Monday’s meeting. Over two hours, city staffers and a team led by Newman Architects solicited feedback on potential uses for the space, with options spanning from small business incubators and farmer’s markets to free laundry services and yoga studios.
Piscitelli said the proposals were selected based on community feedback, much of which was gathered through public meetings hosted by the Armory Community Advisory Committee (ACAC).
Taylor said Monday’s meeting felt like choosing “what furniture we’re gonna put in my home,” given how the armory has long loomed large over where she lives. In addition to family-focused activities, she suggested a stipend system for artist-teachers, allowing people to save on rent if they agree to run community art classes.
Olivia, 10, agreed with her mom on arts activities and added, “It would be cool if there was a museum.” Tristan, 7, advocated for a rock climbing wall.
Rather than proposing specific uses, Pat Solomon, a long-time resident of New Haven, focused on accessibility.
“There should be a designated time for the community to use” the building, said Solomon. Pointing to the Floyd Little Athletic Center, she said suburban communities often use the city’s facilities more than local residents, perhaps because of excessive fees and restrictive hours. The armory “should serve the broader community,” said Solomon.
In general, she added, “I’m for anything youth,” especially for former foster children, many of whom need support after aging out of the system.
Arden Santana, who has lived in New Haven for her entire life, said she felt “disheartened” from seeing how the city’s diversity was not fully represented at Monday’s meeting. She worries about whether the restaurants and grocery stores being considered for the building will be affordable, as well as the flexibility of their hours for people working long shifts.
Ultimately, said Santana, she hopes the space “serves vulnerable populations: youth, low-income, and the elderly.”
Her daughter, Santana Brightly, 14, shares that commitment to inclusivity and described her vision for Black Mall Street, an idea based on the city’s annual Black Wall Street festival.
Brightly developed the concept of “a mall with Black and small business owners” for a group project in school. She views Black Mall Street as a way to “bring the Black community together” and increase the visibility of Black-owned businesses.
As an entrepreneur, she knows the importance of space firsthand. Brightly owns San’s Cocoa, a business that sells homemade carafes of vegan, gluten-free, and low-sugar hot cocoa. “I’m a small business owner, and a lot of business owners don’t have the space to sell their products,” she said. If she had more space, she would use it to continue making progress towards developing a powdered version of her hot cocoa recipe.
All of these ideas will be distilled into three discrete proposals over the next ten weeks, said Dov Feinmesser, director of sustainability at Newman Architects. Afterwards, his team will consult the city, community members, and stakeholders to settle on one version, ideally by early May.
“We recognize that there are many city and state entities involved, and their schedules will dictate” the project’s timing, said Feinmesser. Still, the team is focused on not “missing out on opportunities to get funding.”
Until they make decisions about the community space, however, he said it won’t be possible to calculate the overall cost of the project.
Meanwhile, the city is moving forward on roof repair and abatement work and is about to sign with a contractor, said Piscitelli. If all goes well, construction may begin as soon as late summer.
All the while, said Elihu Rubin, a member of the Armory Community Advisory Committee (ACAC), the ACAC had been “a thorn in the city’s side to make sure [the armory] wasn’t forgotten.” By collaborating with the city, Rubin said the ACAC was able to help select consultants and bring in $250,000 in planning dollars. On Monday, several members showed up to the community meeting and shared ideas for the space.
“The city has, after ignoring it since 2010, put the armory on its agenda,” said Rubin. While the city has already decided on the housing and vocational elements, he encouraged community members to get involved in the planning process for the rest of the building. “There is still space to host a range of community and public uses,” said Rubin.
Emilia Baker, an architect at Atelier Cho Thompson: “Food and interiors have such an impact on community and activating spaces.”
As neighbors milled around on Monday, they added post-it notes with suggestions and described the relative need of each potential function of the armory.