JULIA TIERNAN/YH The University has plans to replace empty storefronts like the former GranCentral on York Street, in part to link the Medical School to Central Campus.

The Elm City of the future takes shape

Yale administrators and city officials have hatched ambitious plans. They see New Haven as the future cultural, technological and intellectual center of Connecticut--a city that boasts the best of the arts and sciences, not to mention one of the finest universities in the world.

The visionaries

The architects of this plan come from both Yale and New Haven, and they've already begun reconceptualizing the campus and the city. In Spring 1998, Yale tapped Bruce Alexander, BK '65, to serve as its vice president for State and New Haven Affairs and to put its ideas for the city in motion. When recently asked about his vision for New Haven and Yale, Alexander leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and slowly spoke: "In 25 years, New Haven will be the center of a thriving biotechnological cluster with a diversity of population, both racially and socioeconomically. It will be an urban, lively 24-hour city--one hour, five minutes by high speed train to Manhattan, an important hub between Boston and New York. It will be the Southern Connecticut region's cultural center and tertiary medical center. Yale will thrive and flourish, and continue to be one of the world's premier universities. And the New Haven and Yale communities will be meshed together even more strongly than they are today."

Arch Currie, director of the project management division in the Yale Office of Facilities, added that the key element of a future Yale campus will be continuity. "From my point of view, I think that 20 years from now, Yale will feel like a much more coordinated and cohesive campus," he said. University Planner Pam Delphenich, who works with Alexander, hopes to "shorten the distance perceptually to both ends of campus." Currie emphasized that Yale and New Haven define each other, and thus perceptions of the city and the University are co-dependent. Yale, he pointed out, is unique in that there are no gates or other physical elements separating the campus from the city. "At Yale, the city is merged right in as a part of campus. New Haven streets are Yale streets."

On the technical side

These same streets will lead the way into the Elm City of the future, and if University and city officials have their way, by 2025 New Haven will have become one of the foremost biotechnology centers in the world. Many under-graduates are unaware that Yale, New Haven, and state officials are funneling cash and other resources to make the city into a mecca for biotechnological research and development. An article from the Wall Street Journal [12/9/98] reported an economic study's finding that "the New Haven metro area has become the second-highest concentration of high-tech jobs in the country, with 21.6 percent of its workforce." New Haven is second only to San Jose, Calif.--the heart of Silicon Valley. Currently, aspiring and established New Haven biotech companies are eyeing a home in Science Park--an 80-acre site in walking distance from the Yale Divinity School--or in a 27-acre biomedical research complex to be built by July 2002 adjacent to the School of Medicine.

In fact, New Haven's Empowerment Zone application submitted this fall, the city cited "science and biotech" as its number-one strategy for growth. In a letter sent to Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. lauding the city's application, Alexander drew attention to the life-sciences research Yale currently supports. "We are determined to help our researchers generate successful businesses from their discoveries and, whenever possible, to enable them to locate and grow in New Haven," he wrote. In the same letter, he also detailed the University's investment of $2.3 million in Science Park and $1 million in the Connecticut Seed Venture Fund, a biotech venture initiative.

The ailing Science Park--a project begun in the early '80s--is now primed for a recovery, feeding off the momentum of a recent $14 million commitment from the state in December. According to Dennis Lyndon, the director of development at Science Park, the plan is to renovate some old buildings and demolish others, allowing for 12 new three-to-four-story buildings on its campus. Lyndon also said the Park is "getting internal growth from companies that have been here."

Biotech companies are reaping the benefits of collaboration with Yale. Kevin Rakin, executive vice president of Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, a company based in Science Park, said his firm enjoys being near the science departments that performed the original biotechnological research. "We capitalize on having Yale researchers walk over, rather than fly over" for consultation and sharing of research results. Though there had been speculation about Genaissance leaving the New Haven area, Rakin now believes that its Science Park location will yield success. "In 20 years, New Haven can be like a mini-California, its own Silicon Valley," he said.

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH The University is also attempting to lure national biotechnology firms to Science Park.

With such potential, it is no wonder New Haven has chosen to venture into biotechnology. Joseph Wolenski, a lecturer in Yale's molecular, cellular and developmental biology department, thinks biotechnology is a prudent long-term investment. "Yale will generate jobs as well as potentially significant revenue. There's a lot of talent walking in the hallways at Yale that can be tapped," he said. "My only concern is that the interests of the University might be redirected to satisfy the goals of private corporations."

Douglas Rae, a School of Management (SOM) and political science professor who served as the city's chief administrative officer from 1990-91, had a more subdued reaction to biotechnological growth. "Biotechnology is a risky investment, but probably worth the try," he said. "The key is to retain the success stories after they happen." Rae did acknowledge that "there are not many great alternatives to this strategy given our energy costs and location."

Arts and sciences

The economic development spurred by a revitalized Science Park might only indirectly affect the Yale student of the future. As you introduce your child to Yale, what areas of the University's Central Campus will have been most drastically improved since your time here?

According to Provost Alison Richard, anticipated areas of growth on the main campus are Science Hill, the School of Medicine, and the "arts area." Richard said the arts area--including the School of Architecture, the Digital Media Center, and Yale University Art Gallery--will receive "well over $100 million over a five-to-10-year period."

She also reported that the plan to rebuild Science Hill will include the allocation of $400 million over the next 20 years to the science departments. Donald Crothers, chairman of the chemistry department, confirmed that chemistry will be the first department affected. He explained that the need for facilities that accommodate "safe and modern hood-intensive research" as well as revamped air handling systems "is probably the most pressing problem."

A reconfigured Science Hill would physically enhance the visual impact of the area. "Science Hill ought to be one of the best visual parts of campus," Richard said. "We want to transform it, make it into a place that is exciting, welcome, and beautiful." According to Currie, the next big projects on Science Hill will be a new environmental sciences facility and interior renovations of the Osborne Lab--though these plans are yet to be approved.

Nonetheless President Richard Levin, GRD '74, stressed that the number of buildings planned for Science Hill is not an indication of University preference for that area. "One of the reasons that there might be a disproportionate number of new buildings on Science Hill is that refitting old buildings for new laboratory space is expensive," he said.

On the other end of campus, efforts are underway to better link the Medical School to the rest of Yale's buildings. "Longer term, we've been thinking about where areas of expansion will be to fill in a few sites on campus and to connect the Medical School with the University proper," Levin said. Planning guidelines for that project--which could include commerical and retail properties between the Medical School and York and College Streets--are due sometime this spring. Ruth Katz, associate dean of the Medical School, said, "We feel very strongly about improving the linkage between the Medical School complex and the main campus. We see ourselves as being very much a part of the University."

Medical School Dean David Kessler has continued to pursue better physical resources for the school. According to Kessler, in addition to the new medical research building being constructed for 2002, the Medical School is planning floor-by-floor renovations of the Sterling Hall of Medicine and laboratory and building renovations in the School of Public Health over the next five years. Kessler also said that "discussions are underway with the leadership of Yale-New Haven Hospital to make certain that appropriate clinical space and facilities are available for the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center." Though the Medical School, like Science Hill, is experiencing a substantial amount of growth relative to the rest of the campus, Levin pointed out that "the Medical School makes up 40 percent of the University budget and faculty."

Keeping downtown alive

When you stroll down the Broadway of the future, you might find a bonanza of successful shops and eateries rather than the current empty storefronts. Matthew Jacobs,
MC '98, a financial analyst in the Yale Office of Properties, said today's situation is a necessary one. "In order for the new development on Broadway to go forward, we need to have places ready for some of the current tenants to move into when the buildings they occupy are torn down. The vacancies are there on purpose."

Jacobs is working on the plans to create a modern retailing space in the Broadway area ranging from Broadway Pizza to Cutler's music shop. Yale is negotiating with several restaurant and clothing operators and retailers about occupying the two 6,000 square-foot blocks in a new shopping development.

While reports by the Yale Daily News have focused on the prospect of the John Harvard restaurant filling the space in the Broadway complex, the chain that owns the restaurant is only one among several operators with whom the University has entered informal discussions and no lease has yet been signed. In fact, the chain operates its restaurants under various names, with those under the John Harvard name located in Cambridge, Mass. and Westport, Conn. Should the chain come to New Haven, it would operate its restaurant under a different name and cater to local preferences, a source in the Properties Office said.

The Properties Office also recently made the first step in purchasing 10 properties on College and Chapel Streets, including Claire's Corner Copia and Caffe Adulis. The papers have been signed on those acquisitions, but the deal is not yet closed. "We're basically the major engine of rehabilitation in the downtown and Broadway areas," Levin said of Yale's increased landlord role. "We're the only people now interested." Lou Beckwith, who has owned the Yankee Doodle for over 25 years, had mixed feelings about Yale's efforts. "I think that New Haven becoming a college town is a good thing," he said, but added, "every new restaurant or coffee shop that Yale brings in hurts us all."

Another potential problem for stores in the downtown area is the Long Wharf Mall--located by the Route 34 corridor. When completed, the mall could pose competition for smaller New Haven businesses. However, Mike Kuczkowski, spokesperson for DeStefano, said the mall is a "high-end mall adjacent to the downtown area, [which will] tap the suburban market." Levin added that the downtown stores draw different crowds than a
mall that will include the likes of Nordstrom's and possibly Saks Fifth Avenue. "In the downtown area, there's a very clear, long-term trend towards small-scale stores, restaurants, and boutiques."

Some experts have argued that the mall should compel the University to play a greater role in urban revitalization. "Yale needs to continue and even increase its contribution to downtown," Rae said. "The development of the museum-theater district is important to the city, and it will be
more important if the [Long Wharf] mall is built. Yale needs to promote its museums actively and the city should help." The mayor has similar ideas. "Our plan for the future is to grow on our strengths," Kuczkowski said. "We want to become the creative capital of Connecticut and a burgeoning arts center."

Back to the future

A unified, cohesive campus. A scientific mecca. A booming retail district. A creative and cultural hotbed. Yale's vision for New Haven is radically different from the city we live in today. Sounds great, but University and city officials will have to make all the right moves in order to bring their plans to fruition. And then, just maybe, your child will fall in love with the New Haven and Yale of the future.

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