The state plans to spend $24.8 million to renovate New Haven Union Station, and officials are looking for businesses to fill new retail and food spaces inside the 106-year-old building.
Gov. Ned Lamont, Transportation Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced the project Monday morning. It includes $9.1 million in exterior repairs already underway at the station and its parking garage, plus $15.7 million in interior work. The state is covering the full cost.
Plans call for a central bar and café in the station’s atrium, a bar and lounge on the mezzanine level and more seating throughout both areas, shown in renderings released by the Union Station Partnership, a joint venture of the state Department of Transportation and the city.
The renovation also includes new restrooms and hallways, flooring, LED lighting, a wellness room, additional family restrooms and upgraded ticketing, security and office space. Crews are repointing brick and repairing concrete outside.
“Union Station is where thousands of people begin and end their trips every day, and it should be a place that people are proud to walk into,” Eucalitto said.
The partnership, working through the New Haven Parking Authority, issued a request for interest Monday seeking vendors for the station’s retail and food service spaces. The document lists possible uses including coffee, grab-and-go food, full-service restaurants, bar service, convenience retail, small-format grocery, bike services, pop-ups and kiosks. Floor plans show available spaces on the basement, first and second floors.
The partnership said it will use responses to shape a potential request for proposals, which it expects to issue in February 2027. Selected tenants would design and build out their own spaces, according to the state.
The partnership is encouraging small, local and disadvantaged businesses to apply. Site visits are available through Dec. 11, and questions are due Dec. 15.
The station, designed by architect Cass Gilbert and opened in 1920, serves nearly 4 million passengers a year, according to the state.
Exterior work and the first phase of interior renovations are expected to be finished by the end of 2027. The second interior phase is slated for the second half of 2028, with garage repairs wrapping up in 2029.
The city is also studying whether the station’s heating and cooling systems can tie into the Union Station Area Thermal Energy Network, a geothermal system New Haven is developing for the station and nearby housing planned by Elm City Communities.
The renovation is separate from a proposed $400 million project to rebuild the station’s platforms, canopy and pedestrian tunnel. That project is in the design phase, with construction expected to start in 2029, pending funding and approvals.
