A new lab-office building planned for the former Rt. 34 corridor won a key vote of support Wednesday, as the aldermanic Community Development Committee unanimously recommended approval of a Development and Land Disposition Agreement (DLDA) between the city and an affiliate of Winstanley Enterprises . The committee alders took that vote Wednesday during a meeting held in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall. The proposal now heads to the full Board of Alders for further review and a potential final vote. The planned new laboratory and office building at 2 Church St. is slated to become a nexus of quantum technology research in New Haven.  Multinational beauty-food-healthcare company Unilever and nonprofit QuantumCT have already reserved office space in the future building — which will be located next to Winstanley’s two other recent lab-office developments at 100 and 101 College St. The five alders on the committee — Downtown/East Rock Alder Christine Kim, Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez, Fair Haven Alder Frank Redente, Dwight Alder Frank Douglass, and Wooster Square Alder Mandy Martinelli — were enthusiastic about the “innovation cluster” proposal, for its potential to bring jobs to New Haven and opportunities for students in quantum technology. Martinelli described the project as a “great idea for the future, as long as we bring everybody up with us, all of our current residents, our high school students.” Other alders agreed — Kim, who represents Ward 7, where 2 Church St. will be located, said she was “fully in support” but wanted “to make sure that we do keep this development accountable.” Wednesday’s was the third public meeting about the project to be held this month. In his remarks to alders, developer Carter Winstanley said when he started developing real estate in New Haven three decades ago, the “dominant narrative at the time was about job losses. It was about employment departing the state, it was an exodus of manufacturing jobs.” By making space for New Haven startups and labs— especially those affiliated with nearby universities — Winstanley said he hoped to see the “narrative” switch. “This is about creating an ecosystem for these future employers to take hold here, to learn to love New Haven, to stay, to grow their companies here, to be part of an ecosystem, to talk to each other.” After hearing from presenters including Winstanley, city Economic Development Administrator Mike Piscitelli, City Engineer Giovanni Zinn and representatives from New Haven Works, committee alders called for the involvement of New Haven residents in the development. They also asked about designs for parking and strategies to finance construction and maintenance of new public infrastructure associated with the development.  Rodriguez asked how developers would get input from New Haven residents about the project, especially those who are not scientists or researchers. Piscitelli assured Rodriguez that he and developers are “aligned” with her on the need for outreach. Referring to herself and other alders present, Rodriguez told Piscitelli and other presenters: “You’ve got some canvassers.” Redente inquired about “direct commitments” made to the city’s public school system through the project. Winstanley said neither Unilever nor QuantumCT has made “formal” commitments yet, but said that Unilever officials “felt very strongly” about involving students, and mentioned the success of the BioCity program in 101 College.   As for the fiscal aspect of the development, which Kim inquired about, presenters told alders that expected city contributions would come to $2.34 million, which is 5.1 percent of the $45.85 million total that will be invested in 2 Church St. Project designs are not yet finalized — the presenters laid out “contingency planning” in case infrastructure improvements cost more than the state will finance. New Haven and the developers would first reduce costs of the project if funds ran out and if needed, apply for additional funding from state and federal sources. The proposed DLDA states that, if a funding gap remains, the city and developer would both commit $600,000, and the city would cover any other costs. Along with alders, several other New Haven officials endorsed the proposal during Wednesday’s meeting, among them New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Supt. Madeline Negrón, representatives from Southern Connecticut State University, ConnCORP Chief Operating Officer Paul McCraven, Omni Hotel General Manager Wayne McClellan, and city Economic Development Corporation CEO Michael Harris. No members of the public testified against the development on Wednesday. Negrón noted in her remarks that the development “expands New Haven’s tax base, to support other needed services like police and fire, and of course, schools.” She added, “I strongly support this project and respectfully ask that you support this project and continue investing in opportunities that support our community.” Harris said “this very specific type of bioscience tower is one of the highest taxpaying uses in the city” and said that the “amount of additional landscaping and public spaces going in” is “unparalleled.” Harris also said that “there are plenty of places where they would be building lab space behind a security desk that’s completely separated from the community, and that’s not what’s going to be happening here.” Construction on 2 Church Street and the associated public infrastructure improvements is set to start later this year, according to presenters. Esme Lombard, the ecosystem director for QuantumCT, spoke at the meeting. She said the project would “provide critical growth space for Connecticut’s broader quantum industry,” adding that its location downtown was “particularly important.” The post Committee Alders Embrace Lab-Office Dev appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less