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Thoughts
3/20/25
What's new at Newman // Spring 2025
Spring Highlights
Happy first day of Spring! As we welcome the new season, we look towards new beginnings that build on our accomplishments this past fall and winter. A big thank you to our clients, collaborators, colleagues, and friends for your continued support. We are eager to see what we can achieve together in 2025.
Our Work
Shoreline Grove earned Passive House Certification
Designed for the Branford Housing Authority and Beacon Communities, Shoreline Grove, the 67- unit new senior affordable housing development met the stringent PHIUS performance standards for a comfortable indoor environment with very low operational energy consumption. It is the largest Passive House certified project in the State of Connecticut and the second largest in New England. Read more here.
Heritage Park is now approved for construction.
In February, the west side of our 58-acre Heritage Park mixed-use development received official approval from the West Hartford Town Council to move forward. The 375,000 SF of development encompasses residential and commercial uses, including rental and for-sale housing, assisted living, and retail space, arranged among twelve acres of preserved wetland and nature trails. The first phase of construction includes the organic market and two mixed-use buildings. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring on the east side of the development. Read more here.
Connecticut Hall earned LEED-NC Gold Certification.
Connecticut Residence and Dining Hall at University of Connecticut, the 246,000 square foot design-build residence hall completed for the Fall 2024 Semester, features 656 beds in suites, a main living room, seminar rooms, game room, bike storage, offices, common rooms and study rooms, and a 500-seat dining hall. Read more here.
Yale University’s MENA Cultural Center opened to students.
This Fall, Yale University’s Middle Eastern and North African Cultural Community moved into a new suite of spaces in 305 Crown Street. The new cultural center includes a flexible, multi-purpose gathering space, large communal kitchen and dining space, offices, and support spaces. Read more here.
Wampanoag Country Club held a topping out ceremony.
In February, our team joined Wampanoag Country Club members and staff to celebrate the topping out of the new clubhouse. The event included the ceremonial signing and placement of the final beam. Thank you to our design-build partner KBE and Wampanoag Country Club; the quick progress would not be possible without your exceptional collaboration. We look forward to celebrating the completion later this year. Read more here.
Our People
Four of our team members obtained new credentials.
Congratulations to Lila Sferlazza, Max Geary, and Zach Petrus, who passed all their exams to become licensed architects, and to Carlos Matute, who obtained his LEED GA certification. These accomplishments reflect hard work and dedication to the profession, and we're proud to have them all at Newman.
Three Newmanites are serving as AIA CT chapter leaders.
We proudly share that three of our staff members have emerged as current leaders within AIA Connecticut, taking action to drive positive change within our industry. Dov Feinmesser, Associate Principal and Director of Sustainability at Newman, is serving a three year term on the Board of Directors and is Co-Chair of the Committee on the Environment. Özlem Caglar is Co-Chair of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (E.D.I). Melinda Agron, Principal and Chief Operating Officer at Newman, began a new role as Co-Chair of the Women in Architecture Knowledge Committee.
Our Clients
We continued to support and expand our family of clients.
Over the past six months, we have welcomed new clients Yale Properties, Kingswood Oxford School, Highland Golf Club, Landmark Properties, The Glendower Group, and Edward J. Minskoff Equities. We also began exciting new projects with valued repeat clients: Fusco Corporation, Fairfield University, Yale University, and Hartford Health Care.
Our clients helped us reach #12 for student housing.
In the 2024 Giants 400 Survey, Building Design + Construction Magazine named Newman the 12th largest student housing design firm in the country! Thank you to our client, consultant, and collaborative partners that have put your faith in us and helped us maintain our leadership in the design of spaces for student life. Four major residence hall projects that opened in 2023 and 2024 helped us earn our ranking: University of Connecticut’s Connecticut Residence and Dining Hall, and Fairfield University's Bowman Hall, Dulles Hall, and Regis Hall Renovation. Read more here.
What else we did this fall/winter:
The New Haven Preservation Trust honored us with the Landmark Award alongside Clifford Beers Clinic for their reuse of the Edwards Street School in 1980.
We participated in the New Haven Promise Career Fair in January, providing insight to students about the profession and what it takes to become an architect.
The team ventured to Rose Vineyards in Branford for our annual winter party in December, celebrating the holidays and the past year of collaboration and accomplishments!
In November, we hosted an AIA CT Emerging Professionals panel focused on alternative career paths, moderated by Newman's Dov Feinmesser.
Melinda, Lila, Amir, Yirmi, Ghida, and Rylie spoke to high schools students at ACES Educational Center Career Day in New Haven in November.
Newman’s Senior Lighting Designer Cait Toczko
shared lighting design updates and insight at a recent Newman Lunch and Learn.