NEW HAVEN, CT — A vacant former car rental center on Crown Street is set to become two new apartments after the landlord’s attorney said now was not the best time, financially speaking, to demolish the commercial building and build a large new one in its place.

This unanimous vote was made by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) last Tuesday during its most recent monthly meeting, which was held online via Zoom and in person on the second floor of City Hall.

Commissioners voted to grant a use variance to allow a residential unit on the first floor of 402 Crown St. The local zoning ordinance requires this type of use variance for converting a commercial ground floor to residential space when the project does not also include residential space on the upper floors.

The 0.23-acre property on Crown Street, which is owned by a subsidiary of Pike International, was most recently home to an Enterprise car rental company and has been vacant for several years.

Local attorney Ben Trachten explained that the property owner wants to convert the single-story, 189-square-meter building into two new apartments.

“Commercial use as a car rental business has existed for many years,” Trachten told commissioners, writing in his application for an exemption from zoning regulations.

“If the owner were to demolish the building, he could rebuild on this 0.23-acre lot with a floor area ratio (FAR) of 6.” That would allow for a building of 60,000 square feet or more. “However,” Trachten continued, “market conditions do not currently allow such a project due to interest rates and other influences.”

He added that the landlord had been trying in vain for years to rent the property commercially.

“By preserving the building and specifying a low-intensity use within the exact footprint of the existing structure,” Trachten said, “this application maintains the opportunity for future development while allowing a minimum level of productive use in the meantime.” The alternative, he said, would be to leave the property vacant.

Local architect Fernando Pastor spoke in favor of the project during the public hearing. “I know this property very well,” he said, as he helped convert three adjacent properties into “student dormitories.”

The whole idea of ​​requiring shops on the ground floor of buildings in this zone is so that “you can walk on the street and see those shops.” But at 402 Crown, he said, the existing building is set back quite a bit. You have to walk to the end of the lot to reach the building. “It doesn’t make sense to apply that requirement to a building that isn’t right on the sidewalk.”

The commissioners agreed and subsequently voted in favor of the requested use deviation.

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