New Haven Launches 1st PhaseOf Downtown Crossing

NEW HAVEN, CT-Six decades after its downtown was bifurcated by the construction of Route 34, Connecticut's second largest city is acting to undo it. Ground was broken Friday for the first phase of the Downtown Crossing project here, a plan to reclaim 10.5 acres of land—suited to transit-oriented development—from a network of expressway stubs and ramps.

“This ditch we are now standing in will once again be turned into a thriving, vibrant neighborhood,” New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. said Friday in prepared remarks. “We are here doing this today because of a choice we made years ago to seriously pursue the removal of this highway. These infrastructure improvements will not only reclaim part of our city, but will allow for further development of the economic base New Haven is known for: knowledge-based jobs in the science, medical, education and technology sectors.”

First up is the development of 100 College St., a 10-story laboratory and office property for which Alexion Pharmaceuticals will be the anchor tenant. This past June, Alexion announced its plans to consolidate from several locations in Cheshire, CT—where it had relocated after launching in New Haven in 1992—to 100 College. The state is providing $51 million in incentives for the pharmaceutical company to return to New Haven, bringing 350 employees with it.

Before construction on the $100-million, 426,000-square-foot 100 College begins sometime this summer, the first order of business will be to fill the highway to the level of the streets that surround it, connecting it to the existing street grid and creating two urban boulevards. According to a release, these infrastructure upgrades include improvements to the surrounding roads; removal of the College Street Bridge deck, which will be replaced by a new road once the area is filled; and a new ramp into the neighboring Air Rights Parking Garage near Yale-New Haven Hospital. Enhancements to make the area pedestrian- and bike-friendly are also planned.

In addition to being the home of Yale University, New Haven is also considered the biotech capital of Connecticut, as it's home to 39 of the state's 52 biotech firms. The city, state and 100 College developer Winstanley have been working on the project since 2007, and the Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital are active participants, the release states.