New Haven Launches 1st Phase Of Downtown Crossing

(3/25/2013) GlobeSt.com - 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.

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