by Paul Bass | Jan 6, 2020 4:03 pm

(9) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Business/ Economic Development, Long Wharf

Plans to transform the historic Pirelli Building on Sargent Drive into a hotel have moved forward, as a local developer has purchased the property from IKEA for $1.2 million.

The developer, Bruce Becker, purchased the 2.76-acre property at 500 Sargent Drive on Dec. 31. The deed was recorded in city land records Friday.

The property, adjacent to IKEA’s furniture store, contains the vacant Pirelli building. The iconic Marcel Breuer-designed Brutalist building, which was constructed in 1968, has long sat vacant in a sea of parking lots off of Sargent Drive, serving as little more than a highway-facing billboard for IKEA’s latest home furnishings.

Both city officials and IKEA have been looking for years to have the building preserved and turned into a hotel to help meet a growing demand for hotel rooms in New Haven. A new Hilton Garden Inn is being built at Elm and Orange Streets; last year saw the opening of the Blake at George and High streets and the renovation of the old Hotel Duncan into the upscale Graduate New Haven on Chapel.

IKEA paved the way for the Pirelli project by winning approval in November 2018 from the City Plan Commission for a detailed plan and coastal site plan for the conversion of the building into a hotel with up to 165 rooms. The plan calls for 129 dedicated parking spaces, 200 square feet of bicycle storage in the bottom of the IKEA sign, stormwater management and landscaping improvements, a reconfiguration of IKEA’s existing 1,241-space surface lot, and the repair and cleaning up of the building’s facade. The proposal does not call for any changes to be made to the building’s exterior.

Since winning the approval, IKEA has been negotiating with Becker on a deal to take over the property and build the hotel.

“The Pirelli Building is one of the most architecturally significant mid-century modern buildings in the United States and has the potential to be preserved and transformed into a net-zero energy boutique hotel and conference center,” Becker — the developer of the 360 State St. tower, the largest residential building in Connecticut — stated Monday in a text message. “I would like to see that happen.”

Becker said he can’t comment yet on who the “flag,” or operating hotel company, might be.

It’s also unclear at this point whether the new hotel would include convention space — which officials have identified as a great need in town — or whether Becker will look to partner with the newly built boathouse on Long Wharf Drive to host affiliated gatherings.

The hotel is seen as an important part of a broader long-range plan to develop the Long Wharf district.

City Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli Monday called the sale to Becker “an important milestone for the Long Wharf Plan and for the development of the city to see the Pirelli move back toward productive use.”

Westville Alder Adam Marchand had cast the lone vote against IKEA’s plan as a City Plan commissioner back in 2018. He said Monday that he’s happy to learn about the sale.

“That sounds like a good thing,” Marchand said. “We need hotel rooms. Right now that building being empty is not the best use.”

Becker will be able to build a hotel without needing a regulatory vote of approval, thanks to the 3-1 City Plan vote in 2018.

“Of course with any project, it’s in the details,” Marchand said. “I look forward to hearing more about it.”