The streets are the most important spaces in cities. In the Ninth Square we made new retail spaces on the ground floor and housing above to inject new life into its streets. Housing is fully occupied, but retail is just starting to work now as downtown New Haven reinvents itself as a 24 hour restaurant and entertainment district.

New Haven was one of the first New World settlements to begin with a town plan, which consists of a grid of nine blocks, or squares, with the town green at its center. The Ninth Square has a rich past and quality of architecture that has deemed it a National Historic District.

By the late 1980's, however, it had succumbed to urban blight. A plan for renewal was developed that identified housing as the key to restoring life to the district. In collaboration with Smith Edwards Architects, we rehabilitated virtually all of the historic four-to-six story buildings within the three-block district, and sited new buildings on vacant lots between them, integrating retail and residential ground floor spaces with apartments above. More than half of the apartments were reserved for low- to moderate-income tenants, and one large courtyard was turned into a residential community center.

Sited at an irregular intersection of two main streets, the highest new apartment building has a 12-story tower and protruding wings, making it a prominent landmark. We restored the streets with new paving, curbs, sidewalks, and lighting, and built two new parking garages in the mercantile style of the district. The sidewalks are lined with plaques, designed by Sheila deBretteville. These commemorate people who have lived and worked in the Ninth Square throughout its 350-year history.