University and city dedicate Yalie-built affordable home in West River neighborhood

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More than 100 Yale students and faculty, city officials, community partners, and neighbors in the West River community of New Haven turned out on Oct. 5 to dedicate the School of Architecture’s 2015 Jim Vlock First Year Building Project, located at 193 Winthrop Ave.

This is the 27th house that Yale students have built in New Haven, and the ninth house completed since the program was endowed.

This year, students were tasked with designing a 1,000-square-foot home on one of the city’s corner lots. Yale President Peter Salovey; Robert A.M. Stern, dean of the School of Architecture; New Haven Mayor Toni Harp; Seila Mosquera, executive director of NeighborWorks New Horizons, and the home’s new owner all spoke at the event.

Salovey called the Vlock Project his “favorite example of a town-gown collaboration,” while Harp noted the importance of affordable housing in the city, saying that “It makes a difference in the lives of the people who live in these beautiful homes.”

The new home owner, who recently completed her master’s degree and works at one of the nearby hospitals, thanked students in the program, saying, “I love this neighborhood and am so happy that I’ll be able to stay here.”

According to Stern, the house received an award from the Connecticut chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. He also thanked the numerous sponsors who contributed more than $100,000 in parts, labor, and financial support, adding that the house cost less than $100 per square foot to build, making it the most cost-effective project in the program’s history.

“It’s affordable because everybody pitches in,” he said. “The faculty and I are so proud of this great amount of work.”