Image courtesy of Paul B. Bailey Architect

An Episcopal church in one of New Haven’s core neighborhoods got the green light to add a significant chunk of affordable housing on the former site of a pizzeria next door.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church had asked the New Haven City Plan Commission to approve a 55-unit, largely-affordable multifamily project at 117-129 Whaley Ave., once the site of a Papa John’s pizzeria location. The project is being led by the St. Luke’s Development Corp., a nonprofit developer owned by the church and focused on its immediate neighborhood, and local developer The Glendower Group.

The commission approved the project last week, several years after the project first won zoning approval. The New Haven Independent first reported the decision.

The 6-story, L-shaped building would have ground-floor commercial space according to plans filed with city officials. The unit mix will be: 20 one-bedroom, 25 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom rentals. Only 11 of the building’s units will be market-rate and amenities will be limited to a community room, on-site storage, a laundry room and an exercise room. Secure storage for 48 bicycles will be included on the first floor, and parts of St. Luke’s property will be paved to create a limited number of parking spots for tenants.

The application states financing has not yet been assembled, but Low-Income Housing Tax Credits will be pursued. Construction could begin as early as this fall.

The project recieved Zoning Board of Appeals approval before New Haven’s “gateway” zoning districts were established in 2020, but it will be one of the first in the Whaley Avenue neighborhood to largely mirror their intent to enable denser, mixed-use development along the city’s major arteries. The neighborhood is currently dominated by low-rise single- and multifamily housing and car-oriented, single-story retail buildings.