Yash Roy, Contributing Photographer

New Haven will tweak its half-century-old tax abatement program in hopes of boosting new “mixed income” developments that will offer a mix of affordable and market-rate housing. 

The Board of Alders on Monday passed an amendment to the city’s tax assessment deferment program, which previously allowed buildings with only either market-rate or affordable housing to qualify under an abatement program. 

Alders also approved a development on Dixwell Avenue with one affordable unit and four market rate units that will be able to benefit from this new abatement regime. Both were sponsored by Dixwell Alder Jeanette Morrison.

“Today is just one affordable unit, tomorrow we’ll have 100,” Morrison said. “We’ll make sure that residents have the opportunity to stay in their communities, and developers have the incentive to make sure that their market rate is also protected.”  

The Assessment Deferral Program was originally created in 1975 and allows for developers who increase property value by 35 percent to freeze property taxes and pay it over a period of five years. 

The program was originally targeted at market-rate developments without any affordable units, since affordable housing has its own abatement program —  the Low Income and Supportive Housing Tax Agreement (LISHTA). Under previous ordinances, only one building in the entire city could claim one of these programs.

However, with the city’s recent enactment of an inclusionary zoning ordinance which requires 20 percent of housing units to be affordable, the abatement program has become harder to use, Morrison said.

One example —  a catalyst for Monday night’s action — is the new five story 176 unit apartment on 176-186 Canal St and 291-309 Ashmun. Its developers hoped to claim both abatement programs benefits. 

The developers hope to include 59 affordable housing units; however, deputy director of economic development Steve Fontana informed Morrison in a letter on Monday that the developers would not be able to do so without a change to the program.

“The developer came with inclusionary zoning in mind,” Morrison said. “They were not eligible in the assessment deferral program because the language was archaic and that needs to be clarified.” 

With Monday’s amendment, this program will now include multi-use lots where one building might have both affordable and mixed-use housing. 

This language update falls under the policy goal of “quality affordable housing,” as outlined in the Board of Alders’ most recent legislative agenda. 

“We’ll make sure that residents have the opportunity to stay in their communities, and developers have the incentive to make sure that their market rate is also protected,” Morrison said.

Dixwell Ave to see new construction, affordable housing unit

A city-owned abandoned garage on Dixwell Ave. is now one step closer to getting a new look after the owner of Brick Oven Pizza, who plans to build five apartments on the site, received official approval. 

The new development plan that the city and developer have agreed to includes five apartments, of which at least one will be an affordable housing unit with rents that are accessible to a tenant who makes 60 percent of the area’s median income. This rent level must be maintained for the next 20 years.

Morrison, who has represented this ward for 11 years, says that the city has been trying to sell the lot since before his election, adding he is excited for the chance to allow for its development.

Kadir Catalbasoglu, who owns Brick Oven Pizza and another housing complex at 59 Dixwell, has been trying to buy the lot and develop it since 2017. 

“I’m buying the property because it is an eyesore right now and I want to develop it up since I own the lot right next door,” Catalbasoglu told the News. 

According to Morrison, the lot has gone through multiple bids but some issue has always prevented its sale. 

The original agreement that alders approved in 2017 would allow for Catalbasoglu to convert the space into two apartments and a commercial building.

However, the owner of the lot right next to 55 Dixwell, Yehoshua Rosenstein, sued to prevent the deal, saying that he owned part of the driveway that was in the lot. The suit has now been resolved.

Morrison explained that inclusionary zoning laws, which would have required affordable units to be built in any new development, did not exist in 2017 when the agreement was first approved, thus necessitating Monday’s amendment. 

The zoning laws were passed earlier this year and require a fifth of all new residential units built downtown must be affordable. 

Caption: Ward 22 Alder Jeannette Morrison spoke for both property based issues Monday night. 

Also at the meeting

• Alders rubber-stamped a proposal to boost a handful of senior positions eligible for high pay and pension, hoping to boost retention of city employees.
  • “This will enable the administration to hire new employees for these positions at salaries more commensurate with their experience and more competitive with other municipalities in the state and region.” said finance committee chair Adam Marchand.
• Alders plan to further scrutinize contracts granted by the Board of Education after BOE member Darnell Goldson raised concerns over a lack of competition in the current bidding process. 
  • “Over my tenure at the board I have seen the process get much less competitive especially in busing where one company receives the contract every time because they are the only company that fits the city’s parameters,” Goldson told the News. “More eyes on contracts like this will help ensure that the process will be fair.”