Oyster Farm Neighbors Plead For Changes
The New Haven Independent
by | Jan 3, 2019 3:05 pm
Following on a meeting at the Historic District Commission (HDC) about a major expansion of the historic Copps Island/Norm Bloom & Sons oyster farm on Quinnipiac Avenue, architects invited all abutting neighbors to contribute alternative ideas. Two proposed new massive, view-altering, riverine buildings proved controversial.
The meeting, held in the third floor conference space at Patriquin Architects, on Grand Avenue and Front Street, drew only a handful of neighbors. They made up for their numbers by proposing a massive rethinking and reconfiguration of the plan
Two sticking points that emerged from the HDC meeting. The business needs HDC approval because the farm is in the Quinnipiac River Historic District.
The first concern: that the commissioners might ultimately balk on the proposed lifting up of two modest historical structures from their albeit crumbling foundations onto a plinth or platform. The plan would save them from future damage from flooding. But it might also uproot their context.
The second concern took up the lion’s share of the hour-and-half meeting, which took place the third week of December. It centered on the massive size of what is being called the Oyster House, the processing facility near the northern end of the property; as well as the large new Hatchery building farther south and abutting the river, also a large building. Neighbors called both proposed structures, especially the Oyster House, visually shocking for the residential style of the district. Continue reading . . .
