Blumenthal, Murphy, DeLauro, Harp Announce $20 Million Federal Grant for New Haven's Downtown Crossing
(Hartford, CT) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and New Haven Mayor Toni Harp announced today a $20 million federal grant for New Haven’s Downtown Crossing— transformation of the old Route 34 highway into a walkable street grid suitable for major mixed-use development.
The Downtown Crossing project will reclaim the underutilized highway, reconnecting New Haven’s downtown, medical district, Hill neighborhood and Union Station transit hub and opening up ten acres of prime downtown land for new development. The competitive $20 million grant will help enable $400 million in new private investment at the former Coliseum site, including one million square feet of mixed use and mixed-income development.
This latest $20 million federal award builds upon the success of a previous $16 million TIGER award which helped to complete the first phase of Downtown Crossing, the development of 100 College Street.
Blumenthal said: “This major federal investment is a game-changer for New Haven and a resounding endorsement of the ongoing efforts to reconnect downtown, the medical service district, residential neighborhoods and the regional rail and bus terminal. For too long, New Haven has endured a misguided, man-made highway to nowhere that has isolated neighborhoods and stifled development. With this grant-- the second TIGER grant for Downtown Crossing-- New Haven can continue to show what is possible when a city takes bold steps to transform its economic future.”
Murphy said: “Completion of the Downtown Crossing project will be transformational for New Haven. It will take a practically inaccessible highway entrance and make it an easy-to-access, pedestrian and bike-friendly hub. Families and students want a walkable city, and there’s no doubt that this $20 million grant will bring us leaps and bounds closer towards making that a reality. For years, I’ve been working hard to get New Haven federal funding to help revitalize the city and reconnect downtown to Yale campuses and the city’s up-and-coming neighborhoods. I can’t wait to see this grant put to work.”
DeLauro said: “Ever since I worked for Mayor Logue more than thirty years ago, I have been fighting to reconnect the City of New Haven. I am proud to have helped secure this $20 million TIGER VIII grant to help complete Phase III of the City's project. These critical infrastructure improvements will enable our City to reconnect its downtown with both the outlying neighborhoods and the train station. With this funding, New Haven can more fully implement its economic development strategy and ensure that the local business community can flourish."
Harp said: “Ongoing efforts to bridge an unnatural, untenable gap in New Haven – the Route 34 Connector – will be advanced mightily by this federal TIGER grant. On behalf of everyone in New Haven I thank the federal delegation for bringing these substantial resources to bear. Downtown Crossing will reunify the Hill neighborhood, the flourishing medical complex, and Union Station with downtown New Haven and Yale’s main campus, which will knit New Haven back together and help build a greater sense of community.”
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