Alders OK Historic Duplex Sale For $6K

Alders signed off on selling a long-vacant, city-owned duplex next to Yale New Haven Hospital for $6,000 to a local veterans housing nonprofit that plans to rehab the property into six affordable rentals.

Local legislators took that vote Monday night during the latest regular meeting of the full Board of Alders. The meeting took place in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.

Alders unanimously approved the Elicker administration’s proposed sale of 596 – 598 George St. for $6,000 to the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress (NVCLR).

The city had long planned on converting that empty property into owner-occupied affordable housing. This new plan tees it up for conversion to below-market-rate rentals for veterans. Read more here about this property’s history and latest plans.

The alders’ sale approval vote on Monday includes a condition applied by the Livable City Initiative (LCI) Property Acquisition & Disposition (PAD) Committee on April 25. That condition states that NVCLR must show ​“proof of funds” for the rehab prior to the closing of the sale.

The Board of Alders approval is valid for one year, and can be extended for an additional year after that. The NVCLR has that time to gather the proper financing and close the sale. After closing, they will subsequently have 24 months to complete the project. If the construction project is not complete in the 24-month timeline, the City of New Haven may undertake a reversion process to reclaim the property.

The two connected three-unit rental properties will be deed-restricted for 20 years for renters making no more than 80 percent area median income (AMI). That means that monthly rents can be no higher than 30 percent of 80 percent AMI. That income level currently translates to around $74,350 for a family of two.

After Monday’s vote, Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, who represents the ward where the properties are located, called the deal a ​“great opportunity for the City of New Haven” to help house a ​“very vulnerable” population.

“I can’t wait until it’s done,” Walker-Myers said, noting that the housing complex would likely also include ​“wraparound services” like easy access to the Veterans Affairs office.

The late-19th century building in question sits at the corner of George and Orchard streets. The city has owned it since 2018, when it bought the property from Yale New Haven Hospital for $1.