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New Haven committee gives favorable recommendation for Towers rezoning to allow new senior housing tower
Summary
After a lengthy presentation and public testimony from residents and service providers, the Legislation Committee voted to give a favorable recommendation to rezone the Towers site to BD3, clearing the way for a proposed Tower 3 with roughly 150 units (largely subsidized) and ground‑floor community uses.
The Legislation Committee voted to give a favorable recommendation to a map amendment that would rezone the Towers property (Tower One and Tower East and an adjacent parcel) from Plan Development District 15 (PBD15) to BD3 to allow a proposed Tower 3. Presenters for the project—Caroline Con of Brenner Wall and Jesse Wescott for the Towers—described a consolidated site and a concept for approximately 150 new units, the majority subsidized, with only a small market‑rate component.
Wescott told the committee the proposed residential tower concept “is comprised of a high percentage of subsidized units with only 14 of the 150 being market rate,” and said the development team had engaged market analysts and the Yale Urban Design Workshop to test feasibility. Presenters emphasized the Towers’ long‑standing supportive model: current assisted‑living conversions and services keep many residents in place for years, reducing pressure on higher‑acuity care and providing continuity for low‑income seniors.
Public testimony was strongly pro‑project. Dr. Beverly Kiger, vice president of the Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut, urged the committee to expand subsidized senior housing, telling members that older adults are the fastest‑growing segment of the local homeless population and stressing the harms of long waiting lists. Multiple Towers residents and relatives described the facility’s services and long waiting lists for subsidized units; resident Stephan Raven said moving to the Towers had given him “a meaningful, purposeful remaining part of my life.”
Committee members repeatedly cited the City Plan Commission’s favorable recommendation and noted how the rezoning aligns with the Comprehensive Plan Vision 2034 and goals to increase housing choice near transit. The committee approved a favorable recommendation by voice vote; the record shows a voice vote was taken but the transcript does not include a roll‑call tally.
Next steps: the favorable recommendation moves the rezoning request to the full Board of Alders for first and second readings as required by city procedures.
