Things are rolling right along apparently. Not a surprise given that 120 new retailers have moved in just in the past few years, filling up almost all the formerly-empty storefronts. The apartment occupancy rate is at basically 100%, with both office and residential rents rising quickly as a result. Yale is spending about $600 million per year on construction, which fuels a lot of the boom.
Maybe someone will build a store where we can buy underwear. And a Taco Bell. Both of these establishments are sorely lacking within walking distance of Downtown New Haven.
(There is no correlation between my wish for these two products.)
From what I hear from my friends at Yale, New Haven is quite good, but you still get sick of going to the same bars/restaurants over and over and you still have to watch out for small-time criminals prowling the streets at night. Oh, and it's definitely no New York.
I'm wondering if they are including in the redevelopment a, "Drive-by Shooting Park"? It seems like it is an essential in New Haven. Someone has to keep all those doctors at Yale Medical Center busy.
It also serves as a training ground for inner city kids before they head off to serve their country.
Although New Haven has some fine specialty delis in East Rock, North Haven, and Wooster Square (Nica's, Orange Street Market, Romeo's, etc), the supermarket situation needs to be fixed, stat! The Shaw's on Whalley is a nightmare, and you have to drive 20-30 minutes to go to a decent grocery store.
Although I loved New Haven during my time there, I found it a difficult place to live. Now, I live in a much smaller city (Princeton, NJ), and the amenities here are infinitely better. We even have a Wegman's and a Whole Foods.
i haven't spent much time in new haven...but I really enjoyed its atmosphere. the smell of the sea, the juxtaposition of contemparary architecture with some old fashioned yankee gothic...to me it seemed like a wonderful place to enjoy cool, autumnal weather while having a drink & ignoring the foreboding signs of an approaching winter. i guess I would describe as a sort of scandinavian/american mood and for some reason that appeals to me...
I wish they hadn't rejected my app for grad school at yale...maybe I'll just move to new haven anyways
I agree it is pretty Scandinavian -- You can bicycle all along the 3 major rivers that run through the city, and along the coastline. Just like the Scandinavian cities, in five minutes from downtown New Haven you can be out in pristine countryside, unlike the disgusting "urban sprawl" found in larger American cities.
As far as the grocery store thing goes, what's wrong with Shaw's? Also, the new 500-unit complex going up on Chapel Street will have a supermarket. 20-30 minutes is a HUGE exaggeration -- there are very fancy supermarkets (Whole Foods equivalent, basically) just a 10 minute drive from the city center, not to mention Limon, a Turkish-Italian supermarket which is in the East Rock area and is the size of a small Whole Foods, plus a major farmer's market (rated one of the 10 best farmers' markets in the United States by USA Today) and a large co-op grocery store (Edge of the Woods) right downtown. And a lot of people shop at those "specialty delis" (actually gourmet grocery stores) scattered throughout the city.
People tend to avoid the chain superstores because they like supporting local markets intead -- compared to a suburban wasteland like Princeton where chain stores reign supreme, New Haven residents tend to be very conscientious of the world. In the summers, they even grow a lot of their own food.
Dude ... Shaw's is horrible. You will spend at least 25-30 min in the checkout line. I once saw a prostitute take a client into one of the bathrooms by the shampoo aisle. Also, I would hesitate calling Stop & Shop "fancy" but would admit to Limon's quality (it had just opened by the time I graduated). Edge of the Woods was passable, but it is the type of place that will sell sprouting onions. Whatever terminology you deploy, a discussion as to whether Nica's is a "specialty deli" or a "gourmet grocery store" is akin to asking whether Certs is a "breath" mint or a "candy" mint .. in other words, silly. What Nica's does offer, however, is an alternative to Shaw's or Super Stop & Shop, provided you can afford it. I would even hesitate calling some of these places Whole Foods-equivalent. And Whole Foods, for that matter, is not the best option when it comes to food shopping, as you may well surmise.
I do grant you that Mercer County, New Jersey is teeming with retail, both small-scale and big-box. However, the price of gas here is lower than in many other places, including New Haven County. Keep that in mind as you drive 10, 20, or 30 minutes (that's how long it will take you if you want to go to the better grocery stores in Hamden ... trust me, the only time I used a car in New Haven was when I would go grocery shopping, and it was something I always loathed, for it was logistically nightmare-ish).
I guess this means we have to agree to disagree :)
Shaw's is expensive (in a poor neighborhood, wtf) and it does take forever to get through the line. A prostitute wouldn't bother me (they have to do it somewhere, I guess?) but there is ALWAYS something wrong with the purchase of the person in line ahead of you, somehow.
Fancy supermarkets a 10 minute drive or even walk away from the city center are great if you are a car owner. (Trader Joe's is probably the best option for price/quality, but is terribly lacking in variety.) But these places are all basically dead to you if you walk for transportation and therefore are a user of the granny-cart (or even bike) I have a zipcar account so manage to make do, but I've only made it to a supermarket every 1-2 months.
I was in New Haven for a summer and the grocery situation was just unforgivable. Shaw's was disgusting (bad selection, high prices, took 45 minutes to get through the line, you don't feel comfortable walking through the parking lot, etc.) The alternatives (Nica's, Edge of the Woods, etc) were okay but passable at best. Trader Joe's was alright but it certainly doesn't count as a full-service grocery and it was nearly 30 minutes away if you hit any traffic.
Other than New Haven's grocery nightmare though, I liked the city just fine. It had a lot going on for being such a small place. I loved how everything was quite walkable.
There are at least 4 Shaws within a 10-minute drive of Yale. The one within walking distance is pretty scary but Edge of the Woods is almost right across the street and ok. There are two on Dixwell Ave. - one still within the scary area, and one in the area with all the shopping centers in Hamden (where the "Ghost Parking Lot" used to be, that got paved over). There's a Stop and Shop right in the shopping area across the street from there too.
There's a Trader Joe's a little further away, on the Post Rd. in or near Milford (and another Shaws and another Stop and Shop..., but the Post Rd. does take 20 minutes to 1/2 hour or more.)
There's a little no-brand grocery store and a big-box club store in North Haven across from Target (also less than a 10 minute drive.)
There are a couple more grocery stores in East Haven, and a couple more in the Foxon Blvd. area of New Haven - all less than 10 minutes driving.
But, if you don't have a car things are tough.
Still, even the scary Shaws is a great improvement over the hideous bug infested GranCentral store that was on York St. near the medical school until 10 years ago, and was the only option without a car.
Surfaces: for many years there was a Taco Bell right on the same block of York St. as the A+A. It was in a WaWa store that's been gone for a few years now. When it was there it was constantly blamed for every bout of stomach trouble experienced by every architecture student - so I think "good riddance".
As for a development "explosion" - it's overdue, and I think more the result of a development drought. There was nothing but housing and small retail built in downtown New Haven for decades. When a small office building was completed on State St. 5 or 6 years ago it was much celebrated for being the first new office building in downtown New Haven in more than 20 years.
I was happy to have Shaw's, even if it meant a 15 min walk home with my groceries.
"No, we can't get any beer we've already bought milk."
"Oh well"
Not that you can buy beer in New Haven on Sunday or after 8:30 on other days. Yea, the line did take forever to get through, but especially on Sunday mornings you got the impression that the interaction in the line was part of the after church ritual, and part of the reason for going. We'd call papa john's from the line and the pizza would be ready by the time we got down the street to their shop. I bought a large amount of groceries at Walgreen's too, they were so close to my apartment. That said, I think the only things I miss about New Haven are the Thai places on Chapel, metro north and walking by the waterfalls running down the truncated staircases in the partly demolished coliseum.
Will a development explosion just mean that the faux NYC area (9th Square?) will swallow more of New Haven with their pretension and pricey drinks? I suppose that would be good though. Hey, they got a big movie theatre while I was there, what about that development?
Groceries _are_ better in Princeton, we have a Wegmans! Whoo hoo. As a central new york native, I am so happy to have access to their sub shop again. I am not sure Princeton is a small town, it's attached to the huge Northeast corridor urbanization. This ain't no central new york style small town, baby.
Well, Yale just increased annual endowment spending meaning they will spend about $1.2 B of their endowment this year versus about $850m last year. That's a huge jump in one year, so it would seem that they would have money to build just about anything.
Oct 2, 08 11:03 am ·
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New Haven Development Explosion
Things are rolling right along apparently. Not a surprise given that 120 new retailers have moved in just in the past few years, filling up almost all the formerly-empty storefronts. The apartment occupancy rate is at basically 100%, with both office and residential rents rising quickly as a result. Yale is spending about $600 million per year on construction, which fuels a lot of the boom.
City receives multiple bids for downtown site from Related Companies, etc.
http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/04/city-receives-multiple-bids-for-former.html
500-unit mixed-use tower begins construction
http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/04/500-unit-shartenberg-mixed-use.html
There are even a couple of 5-star hotels under development/nearing completion:
http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/03/downtown-hotels-going-upscale.html
Wow, New Haven was a lovable dump when I was there.
I guess I have mixed feelings about the new development.
But as long as the Yankee Doodle, Louis' Lunch, Rudy's and the Anchor remain, I'm ok with it.
The Yankee Doodle closed.
HOW THE HELL COULD THE YANKEE DOODLE CLOSE?!?!?! That place was an institution!!!
Do you work for the Chamber of Commerce, anonnyc?
and i thought the coliseum site would be a surface parking lot for the next decade...
Maybe someone will build a store where we can buy underwear. And a Taco Bell. Both of these establishments are sorely lacking within walking distance of Downtown New Haven.
(There is no correlation between my wish for these two products.)
maybe time to look at moving back to CT, eh?
It's gotta be a gorgeous place at some point, but they just seem to stagnate.
From what I hear from my friends at Yale, New Haven is quite good, but you still get sick of going to the same bars/restaurants over and over and you still have to watch out for small-time criminals prowling the streets at night. Oh, and it's definitely no New York.
I'm wondering if they are including in the redevelopment a, "Drive-by Shooting Park"? It seems like it is an essential in New Haven. Someone has to keep all those doctors at Yale Medical Center busy.
It also serves as a training ground for inner city kids before they head off to serve their country.
I think a Whole Foods is more likely.
You'll fit right into Yale as long as you maintain that classist distance from the people* who form New Haven's local population.
*a.k.a. townies, a.k.a. the thousands of human beings who keep the city running and are totally valid community members.
Although New Haven has some fine specialty delis in East Rock, North Haven, and Wooster Square (Nica's, Orange Street Market, Romeo's, etc), the supermarket situation needs to be fixed, stat! The Shaw's on Whalley is a nightmare, and you have to drive 20-30 minutes to go to a decent grocery store.
Although I loved New Haven during my time there, I found it a difficult place to live. Now, I live in a much smaller city (Princeton, NJ), and the amenities here are infinitely better. We even have a Wegman's and a Whole Foods.
i haven't spent much time in new haven...but I really enjoyed its atmosphere. the smell of the sea, the juxtaposition of contemparary architecture with some old fashioned yankee gothic...to me it seemed like a wonderful place to enjoy cool, autumnal weather while having a drink & ignoring the foreboding signs of an approaching winter. i guess I would describe as a sort of scandinavian/american mood and for some reason that appeals to me...
I wish they hadn't rejected my app for grad school at yale...maybe I'll just move to new haven anyways
I agree it is pretty Scandinavian -- You can bicycle all along the 3 major rivers that run through the city, and along the coastline. Just like the Scandinavian cities, in five minutes from downtown New Haven you can be out in pristine countryside, unlike the disgusting "urban sprawl" found in larger American cities.
As far as the grocery store thing goes, what's wrong with Shaw's? Also, the new 500-unit complex going up on Chapel Street will have a supermarket. 20-30 minutes is a HUGE exaggeration -- there are very fancy supermarkets (Whole Foods equivalent, basically) just a 10 minute drive from the city center, not to mention Limon, a Turkish-Italian supermarket which is in the East Rock area and is the size of a small Whole Foods, plus a major farmer's market (rated one of the 10 best farmers' markets in the United States by USA Today) and a large co-op grocery store (Edge of the Woods) right downtown. And a lot of people shop at those "specialty delis" (actually gourmet grocery stores) scattered throughout the city.
People tend to avoid the chain superstores because they like supporting local markets intead -- compared to a suburban wasteland like Princeton where chain stores reign supreme, New Haven residents tend to be very conscientious of the world. In the summers, they even grow a lot of their own food.
More info on the local scene
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/27architectct.html
Dude ... Shaw's is horrible. You will spend at least 25-30 min in the checkout line. I once saw a prostitute take a client into one of the bathrooms by the shampoo aisle. Also, I would hesitate calling Stop & Shop "fancy" but would admit to Limon's quality (it had just opened by the time I graduated). Edge of the Woods was passable, but it is the type of place that will sell sprouting onions. Whatever terminology you deploy, a discussion as to whether Nica's is a "specialty deli" or a "gourmet grocery store" is akin to asking whether Certs is a "breath" mint or a "candy" mint .. in other words, silly. What Nica's does offer, however, is an alternative to Shaw's or Super Stop & Shop, provided you can afford it. I would even hesitate calling some of these places Whole Foods-equivalent. And Whole Foods, for that matter, is not the best option when it comes to food shopping, as you may well surmise.
I do grant you that Mercer County, New Jersey is teeming with retail, both small-scale and big-box. However, the price of gas here is lower than in many other places, including New Haven County. Keep that in mind as you drive 10, 20, or 30 minutes (that's how long it will take you if you want to go to the better grocery stores in Hamden ... trust me, the only time I used a car in New Haven was when I would go grocery shopping, and it was something I always loathed, for it was logistically nightmare-ish).
I guess this means we have to agree to disagree :)
Seriously, anonnyc10003, do you work for the Chamber of Commerce? :D
Shaw's is expensive (in a poor neighborhood, wtf) and it does take forever to get through the line. A prostitute wouldn't bother me (they have to do it somewhere, I guess?) but there is ALWAYS something wrong with the purchase of the person in line ahead of you, somehow.
Fancy supermarkets a 10 minute drive or even walk away from the city center are great if you are a car owner. (Trader Joe's is probably the best option for price/quality, but is terribly lacking in variety.) But these places are all basically dead to you if you walk for transportation and therefore are a user of the granny-cart (or even bike) I have a zipcar account so manage to make do, but I've only made it to a supermarket every 1-2 months.
I was in New Haven for a summer and the grocery situation was just unforgivable. Shaw's was disgusting (bad selection, high prices, took 45 minutes to get through the line, you don't feel comfortable walking through the parking lot, etc.) The alternatives (Nica's, Edge of the Woods, etc) were okay but passable at best. Trader Joe's was alright but it certainly doesn't count as a full-service grocery and it was nearly 30 minutes away if you hit any traffic.
Other than New Haven's grocery nightmare though, I liked the city just fine. It had a lot going on for being such a small place. I loved how everything was quite walkable.
List of / photos of new buildings going up in the area:
http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/04/new-materials-in-new-haven-architecture.html
Edge of the Woods
Details on the RFQs for the Former New Haven Coliseum Site, by Northland, Related, Robert Stern, Cesar Pelli, Archstone, AvalonBay, etc.:
http://www.designnewhaven.com/2008/05/former-new-haven-coliseum-site-details.html
There are at least 4 Shaws within a 10-minute drive of Yale. The one within walking distance is pretty scary but Edge of the Woods is almost right across the street and ok. There are two on Dixwell Ave. - one still within the scary area, and one in the area with all the shopping centers in Hamden (where the "Ghost Parking Lot" used to be, that got paved over). There's a Stop and Shop right in the shopping area across the street from there too.
There's a Trader Joe's a little further away, on the Post Rd. in or near Milford (and another Shaws and another Stop and Shop..., but the Post Rd. does take 20 minutes to 1/2 hour or more.)
There's a little no-brand grocery store and a big-box club store in North Haven across from Target (also less than a 10 minute drive.)
There are a couple more grocery stores in East Haven, and a couple more in the Foxon Blvd. area of New Haven - all less than 10 minutes driving.
But, if you don't have a car things are tough.
Still, even the scary Shaws is a great improvement over the hideous bug infested GranCentral store that was on York St. near the medical school until 10 years ago, and was the only option without a car.
Surfaces: for many years there was a Taco Bell right on the same block of York St. as the A+A. It was in a WaWa store that's been gone for a few years now. When it was there it was constantly blamed for every bout of stomach trouble experienced by every architecture student - so I think "good riddance".
As for a development "explosion" - it's overdue, and I think more the result of a development drought. There was nothing but housing and small retail built in downtown New Haven for decades. When a small office building was completed on State St. 5 or 6 years ago it was much celebrated for being the first new office building in downtown New Haven in more than 20 years.
I was happy to have Shaw's, even if it meant a 15 min walk home with my groceries.
"No, we can't get any beer we've already bought milk."
"Oh well"
Not that you can buy beer in New Haven on Sunday or after 8:30 on other days. Yea, the line did take forever to get through, but especially on Sunday mornings you got the impression that the interaction in the line was part of the after church ritual, and part of the reason for going. We'd call papa john's from the line and the pizza would be ready by the time we got down the street to their shop. I bought a large amount of groceries at Walgreen's too, they were so close to my apartment. That said, I think the only things I miss about New Haven are the Thai places on Chapel, metro north and walking by the waterfalls running down the truncated staircases in the partly demolished coliseum.
Will a development explosion just mean that the faux NYC area (9th Square?) will swallow more of New Haven with their pretension and pricey drinks? I suppose that would be good though. Hey, they got a big movie theatre while I was there, what about that development?
Groceries _are_ better in Princeton, we have a Wegmans! Whoo hoo. As a central new york native, I am so happy to have access to their sub shop again. I am not sure Princeton is a small town, it's attached to the huge Northeast corridor urbanization. This ain't no central new york style small town, baby.
The 500 unit tower is under construction now, they'll be digging in the ground for a while and 250 construction workers are on site.
Wonder if Yale has deeper pockets than the Indian Casino in their backyad as they have of recent put the 729 million dollar expansion on hold.
Well, Yale just increased annual endowment spending meaning they will spend about $1.2 B of their endowment this year versus about $850m last year. That's a huge jump in one year, so it would seem that they would have money to build just about anything.
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