Three kinds of East Rock kitchen
Whitney Avenue is lined with large houses, while the smaller streets nearby mostly hold smaller homes, and many buildings in the neighborhood are divided into apartments or condominiums. Citywide, only about 25 in 100 New Haven homes is a single-family house, so the kind of building you are in matters before the style does.
| If your kitchen is in | What usually decides the scope | First question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| A large single-family house | Whether the kitchen can borrow space from a pantry, back hall or dining room, and what the old walls hold. | Is the wall I want to open carrying load, and what runs inside it? |
| A two- or three-family house | Plumbing and venting shared with the units above or below, and who owns each unit’s kitchen. | Where do the drain and vent lines run, and do they serve another unit? |
| An apartment or condominium building | Association rules, work hours and approvals, and a footprint you cannot change. | What does the association require in writing before design starts? |
Register districts are not the same as review
The city’s maps list several National Register and State Register districts around East Rock, including the Whitney Avenue and Orange Street districts. None of New Haven’s three local historic districts, Wooster Square, Quinnipiac River and City Point, covers East Rock, and the local districts are where the Historic District Commission reviews exterior changes. Boundaries differ from list to list, so look up your own address on the city’s interactive map, and ask the City Plan Department if it sits near an edge.
Outside a local district an older East Rock house still raises the questions in our guide to older houses: lead-safe work, plaster, old wiring and what the floors hide.
Projects that suit these houses
- Opening the kitchen to the dining room. A larger house often has a back kitchen cut off from the rooms people use. Layout changes explains what opening a wall involves.
- A better kitchen inside the same footprint. In a smaller house or an apartment the gain comes from cabinets and storage, not from new walls.
- Finishes without moving plumbing. Backsplash, flooring and lighting change a room while the sink and range stay where they are.
Questions from East Rock homeowners
Is East Rock a historic district for remodeling purposes?
Parts of it are in National Register or State Register districts, but those listings are separate from the three local districts where the Historic District Commission reviews exterior changes. The city’s map shows which lists a street is on. If your project changes the outside, such as a new vent, window or door, ask the City Plan Department before you order anything.
My building has several apartments. Who approves the kitchen?
It depends on whether you own the unit, the building or a share of it. Ask the owner, the association or the management office for the written rules first, then ask the building office whether a permit is needed. Both can apply.
Can a remodeler work around a shared drain or vent?
Sometimes, but a shared line may need work that affects the other units. Ask the remodeler to show where the lines run and who must give permission before the plan is final.