The state will spend $21.5 million to spur redevelopment of the New Haven Coliseum site, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office announced.
The state funds will help remove a Route 34 connector that has separated Union Station, the city’s medical district and another neighborhood from downtown.
The coliseum site is slated to become a mixed-use development that includes space for businesses and housing. The developer is Montreal, Canada’s LiveWorkLearnPlay.
The development is expected to create 2,809 permanent jobs once it’s in full operation, according to officials.
The coliseum plans are a key part of New Haven’s overall vision for what it calls Downtown Crossing — a transit-oriented plan to reconnect parts of the city by removing the circa-1950s highway that had split it up and replacing it with more urban, city-speed streets.
Downtown Crossing will also be the new headquarters of Cheshire’s Alexion Pharmaceuticals. The move is expected to start some time in 2015.
