© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Haven's Downtown Crossing Project Ready for Phase Two

Gov. Dannel Malloy/flickr creative commons
Redevelopment of the Former Site of the New Haven Coliseum

This week’s opening in New Haven of Alexion Pharmaceutical's new global headquarters marks the completion of the first phase of the city’s revitalization effort.

The idea behind New Haven’s Downtown Crossing Project is to stitch together two parts of the city that were divided back in the 1950s by a highway -- and gain some ten acres of land in the middle. The completion of the Alexion building was phase one of the project.

Matthew Nemerson, New Haven’s Economic Development Administrator, was among those attending this week’s ribbon-cutting. "This is the first building and there will eventually be three buildings," he said. "So, two other buildings are coming, and two other bridges. College Street has been rebuilt, which is one of the main connectors. Then we’re going to build Orange Street, which doesn’t exist right now, and then we’ll build Temple Street, which doesn’t exist either."

Three connectors will go over the old highway with three buildings between them. Nemerson said people have been trying to figure out ways to reconnect the city for years. With the help of the Obama administration’s so-called TIGER grants, reclaiming the old highway for economic development became something everybody was willing to get behind.

It's all good news for New Haven, according to Paul Bass, editor of The New Haven Independent. Speaking on WNPR’s Where We Live, Bass said the news about Alexion isn’t only thing happening in the city. 

"In New Haven, there’s a land grab going on," Bass said. "Developers want to come here and we don’t even have to give them money for it, which is very different from anything we’ve seen in the last 30 years that you and I have been around. We used to have to give them tax breaks to come. We’re not giving them tax breaks. There’s another big project happening on the other side of town in Fair Haven where they’re going to take an old Connecticut bus depot and they’re going to build a $16 million technology innovation hub."

And more development means permit fees -- revenue the city’s counting on in the coming fiscal year.

Lori Connecticut Public's Morning Edition host.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.