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September 8, 2020

City outlines progress on Downtown Crossing project 

IMAGE | CONTRIBUTED An artistic rendering of the future Orange Street in New Haven.
By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Getting from one section of the city to another will be safer and easier in the coming months.

New Haven officials joined with other dignitaries Tuesday afternoon to celebrate and showcase the city’s progress on Phase 2 of the Downtown Crossing redevelopment project. 

The long-term, multi-phase project aims to reconnect New Haven’s medical district and Hill neighborhood with its central business area. 

Part of the project involves connecting Orange Street to South Orange Street, now impassable because of traffic on the connector. The public/private project will convert a portion of Route 34, a limited-access highway connector, into urban boulevards and new city streets. 

“This is our new welcome mat to the city,” said Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli.

Once the project is finished, people wishing to cross on bicycle or on foot can feel safe doing so, officials said.

Construction on the $18 million Phase 2 project began in spring 2019 and is expected to be finished in the summer of 2021. 

Phase 2 primarily involves the construction of new intersections at Orange Street at MLK Boulevard and Orange Street at South Frontage Road and will feature the construction of the state’s first protected bike and pedestrian intersection. On Tuesday, officials gave a walking tour to the media.

Mayor Justin Elicker is an avid cyclist, and stressed the importance of traffic safety.

“This project prioritizes reuniting the community in a safe way,” Elicker said. “The transformation of this underutilized section of downtown, which connects the Hill neighborhood, into a thriving new neighborhood and economic hub of corporate, commercial and residential activity has allowed us to look toward the future and plan for a time beyond the pandemic.”

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3) said it will relieve congestion and correct the mistake created years ago when the Route 34 connector cut the city in half. 

“It is exciting to see a local reminder of what we can do together,” DeLauro said. “The Downtown Crossing project is the culmination of decades of work to reconnect the downtown area with New Haven’s outlying neighborhoods, and I am thrilled to see the progress being made.”

She noted how it will help relieve traffic congestion, address flooding and spark economic growth.

Thomas Coley, president of Gateway Community College, said both the public and Gateway students will be able to navigate the area more safely. He noted how students and staff frequent local business establishments, and improving safety could encourage this more.

“A safer walk from the train station to the college will mean more use of public transportation,” Coley said. 

The public infrastructure improvements and planned enhancements coordinate with the private redevelopment of the former New Haven Coliseum site at 275 S. Orange Street and 101 College Street, for example.

“It may be hard to imagine now what it will be like when we have 101 College, a bustling Coliseum site, and an area filled with pedestrians and bicyclists,” Elicker said. 

Elicker noted that if people don’t imagine what can be, however, it won’t become a reality.

Once completed, approximately ten new acres of land will be prime for development, creating jobs for residents and additional tax revenue, officials said.

A mixed use development is in the works for the former Coliseum site. Plans for 101 College St. include a new 10-story bioscience tower. Developer Carter Winstanley of Winstanley Enterprises secured final approvals earlier this summer, and he expects the project, which will feature laboratory, research and incubator space, to be finished in late 2022.

Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.

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