A tale of two buildings: sales give new hope

Walking down College Street toward the Yale School of Medicine, one passes the Palace Theater, and, a while later, at 300 George St., a large office building formerly owned by Southern New England Telephone (SNET). The two buildings both share a run-down appearance—the Palace's facade is dusty and aged, and the coat of tan paint applied to 300 George St. last year is already peeling—and, until last month, the same owner, Matthews Ventures.

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH The old SNET building at 300 George St. got new paint last year, and it's already peeling.

In January, Win-stanley Associates of Concord, Mass. paid $27.5 million for 300 George, which is regarded as a cornerstone of downtown New Haven. As for the Palace, the building where the theater is located is being sold to David Nyberg and his uncle Ronald Caplan. Nyberg works for Matthews Ventures, but is buying the building as private capital; he and Caplan represent the new management. The sales bode well for New Haven's revitalization. Although Matthews Ventures officials did not return calls, and other sources did not want to comment on the company, it is apparent that all was not well under their management. At 300 George St., only two of the seven floors were occupied, but within days of the sale, renovation work on unoccupied space progressed rapidly.

The New Haven Register reported on Sat., Jan. 29, that Robert Matthews of Matthews Ventures had been unable to put up the money needed to upgrade heating and ventilation at 300 George St., a critical step toward bringing in corporate biotechnology labs in search of proximity to the medical school. The Register also reported that Matthews recently left the hospital after a critical viral infection and has been trying to sell the building.

The restoration of 300 George St. fits neatly into New Haven's effort to reinvigorate downtown. A presentation on the City of New Haven web site dated Tues., Feb. 2, 1999, lists the restoration as one of the eight top-priority projects for the city. "This is the checklist of projects the City believes can be delivered in the next three years," the presentation states. "This is the gardening process, weeding out vacant or under-utilized buildings and finding new uses that will help strengthen the entire `garden' of the city."

Jon Soderstrom, managing director of the Office of Cooperative Research at Yale, knows that the impact will be felt in future ventures related to the Medical School. "The 300 George St. building represents a critical step in addressing the near-term demand for laboratory space in New Haven, especially since Science Park appears to have achieved full occupancy," he said. "We are very pleased that a very well qualified real estate developer has decided to make such a significant investment in New Haven. Many of our spin-off ventures are already talking to Winstanley Enterprises about leasing space in the building."

Bruce Alexander, BK '65, Yale's vice president for New Haven affairs, echoed Soderstrom's sentiments. "We expect 300 George St. to be one of the important centers of biotechnology laboratory space in New Haven as well as [a home to] Internet start-up companies," he said. He added that the Medical School leases 50,000 square feet of administrative office space in the building right now.

The sale of the Palace, meanwhile, has left those at the Shubert feeling hopeful. When the ownership of the Palace changes, Brian Alden, the current manager of the Palace, will lose his lease, and the theater's supporters fear that new management may steer the Palace away from the community-oriented programming for which it is known. The city has formed a holding company to take over the theater, but it may eventually its have the Shubert Theater manage the Palace since a study commissioned by the city on the state of arts facilities endorsed such a plan. The city hopes to increase the number of New Haven events nights from 935 to over 1000 annually.

CAYTE PUSHKAREVA/YH The dilapidated Palace Theater may come under the ownership of the Shubert.

"The report is about what should be done so that the arts organizations have the facilities that they need to be as effective as possible, and obviously I'm very interested in what the city has to say," Robert Resnikoff, director of marketing and public relations for the Shubert Performing Arts Center, said.

Resnikoff was hesitant to comment on specifics, however. "It's all very, very premature," he cautioned. "As of right now, the plans aren't concrete. There are not plans to raise the funds that are necessary to refurbish the theater. There are no plans about funding the staffing of the theater." But he did note that there are "attractions to the Shubert in regards to the Palace plan."

Such a union would solve problems the Shubert experiences as a result of the extended set-up time needed for major shows. "Right now we have a problem—we don't have enough dates," Resnikoff said. "While one facility was preparing a new show, the other theater could continue to present the wide variety of shows that the Shubert presents." This fits with the Shubert's desire to return to being a tryout spot for Broadway shows.

At the same time, though, Resnikoff maintained that the community-oriented shows the Palace currently runs would not be abandoned. He also asserted that the Shubert is already very active in the community, citing recent community-oriented shows as well as master classes and outreach programs that the Shubert organizes. "We could indeed do more of those kinds of programs, and we could be more available for community organizations [if we controlled the Palace]," he said.

No matter what happens, the sale of the Shubert and 300 George St. certainly herald real changes for two of College Street's most famous landmarks. The Register even reported rumors that the office space in the building containing the Palace will be converted to apartment units with shops on the ground floor. Of course, this would be just another step for the ever-changing face of downtown New Haven.

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