STV’s Hartford team recently celebrated the ribbon cutting for an essential community building block in the region: the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK) in New Haven.

STV provided Owner’s Project Management (OPM) services from pre-construction through occupancy, including project accounting, grant administration, and budgeting for the newly renovated 3-story resource center, The center includes a drop-in welcome center, fully renovated industrial kitchen, medical services, shower/laundry services, and a resource center equipped with case management offices.

Founded 30 years ago, DESK now provides over 200 meals each night to the New Haven community, and plans to serve more than 100,000 meals in 2025.

“DESK is far more than a soup kitchen for New Haven’s unhoused community,” said Mark Dupre, vice president and project executive. “STV’s purpose, ‘Making Communities Better’ is about building stronger communities – not just through infrastructure, but through acts of kindness and generosity.”

At the event, the STV project team joined the celebration with DESK staff and volunteers, members of the community, and government officials including New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro. 

The new hub is “a simple way to say to people: We respect you, it’s a time of need, and we’re there to help… without judgment and without stigma,” DeLauro said at the event.