Alert received:
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Date: 10/11/02 10:45 AM
Received: 10/11/02 7:47 AM
From: narracci [rnarracci@cesar-pelli.com]
The New Haven Board of Aldermen will vote on the IKEA site proposal on
Tuesday, October 15 at 6:00 in City Hall.
Many people agree that the new IKEA store proposed for Long Wharf in New
Haven will have a good economic impact on the city. Many people also
agree that IKEA's corporate responsibility is outstanding. However,
their approach to the Long Wharf site is questionable. The site is on
land occupied by the 1969 Armstrong Building (recently known as the
Pirelli building) designed by Marcel Breuer. IKEA's new prototype store
is larger than previous stores (300,000 SF). The store's parking
requirements have led to a proposal which removes the entire base to the
rear of the of the Pirelli building and surrounds the Pirelli building
with an asphalt parking lot and minimal planting. A good portion of the
base of the building can be preserved with only an impact upon 80
parking spaces (out of 1.241 total). Likewise, the magnificent
greenspace surrounding the building can be designed as "turf-parking"
with inexpensive, accessible technology, similar to turf-parking
technology used at the Westfarms Mall in Connecticut.
Please join other New Haven architects, designers, planners and citizens
at the meeting. We will encourage the Board of Aldermen to support of
IKEA but with more emphasis on preserving this city gateway
architectural landmark.
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