Plans for Union Station’s interior. Union Station is getting another $24.8 million in state funding — this time for renovations to its interior, including new retail space and restrooms, city and state officials announced on Monday.  “In the interior building, it’s going to be upgra des, literally from the floor to the ceiling,” said Mayor Justin Elicker, who was joined by Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, as well as several other representatives of city and state agencies who have contributed to the Union Station overhaul, at a Monday press conference at Union Station.  Investments in interior improvements are the most recent to come to the city’s main transit hub: In April, the state committed over $400 million to revamping Union Station’s tunnel and platforms, a project now in the design phase, and the New Haven Parking Authority (NHPA) also began making repairs earlier this summer to the station’s facade, which will be preserved throughout the project. Earlier this year, the state also announced more than $100 million in improvements to State Street Station and the Court Street bridge. The project announced Monday will come in two phases, said Garrett Eucalitto,  commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The first phase, which will start within the next two months, will include constructing new family restrooms and renovating the station’s second-floor mezzanine and fourth floor, which is currently being used as office space. The second phase, which will start over a year from now, will focus on the main lobby and new retail spaces.  Eucalitto said improvements inside would include “transforming the main waiting area, and the atrium, with new seating, flooring, lighting, and other upgrades that will make the space more comfortable.” He said there would also be renovations to “all the common areas,” meaning “the security, the information, and ticketing spaces.” There will be no interruptions to train service during construction, according to Eucalitto. Eight retail spaces will be added to the station over the course of this project, according to Kathleen Krolak, a former city economic development staffer who is now NHPA’s director of real estate.  Krolak announced that the Union Station Partnership — which is between the Connecticut Department of Transportation and the city — has released a Request for Interest (RFI) form for businesses interested in leasing space in the station. “We’re looking to grow the number of retail and restaurant openings,” Krolak said, adding that the NHPA and Union Station Partnership would use the RFI for “planning and information gathering.” She encouraged any interested businesses to apply. The RFI will remain open until this coming January. Bysiewicz said the project could be “a real economic opportunity” for New Haven businesses. “It’s going to be great to have these businesses for all of the people who will be living in the 2,500 new housing units” across the street, Bysiewicz added, referring to Union Square, the Housing Authority of New Haven’s plan to build a mixed-income, mixed-use community across the street on the former Church Street South property. City planners have approved Union Square’s first phase of development and the housing authority is in the process of securing financing for the project. The state also announced in 2025 a $300 million plan to build two 16-story towers containing 470 apartments and 28,000 square feet of retail and commercial space next to Union Station. Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez said she was “so happy also to hear that we’re going to have the opportunity to have small business owners” from the area. She said she is “looking forward to the growth, looking forward to everyone coming on and riding these rails so we can continue this city moving up.” As Krolak, Bysiewicz, and Rodriguez all suggested, city and state officials envision Union Station as the center of a new “transit-oriented” downtown, as Elicker put it. “Imagine this neighborhood, across the street, transformed into 2,500 units, the surface parking lot next door transformed into additional housing units,” said Elicker. That new neighborhood, city and state developers imagine, will be within walking distance of QuantumCT’s new laboratory and office building on Church Street, and the newly opened Trowbridge Recreational Center on Carlisle. “I mean, you name it, it is going on in our city. You can tell I’m excited about it,” Elicker said.  Elicker said New Haven could become Connecticut’s most populated city within the decade. “In planning for this growth, we need strong transit hubs, we need a lot more housing, and we need amenities for that,” including more businesses.  Economic Development Administrator Mike Piscitelli has been involved with planning improvements to the station for many years. He said now he is beginning to “see the projects fit together” downtown. He mentioned the new Bus Rapid Transit system that will connect to the station as another improvement coming to the neighborhood.  “This project will be a renaissance and a renewal of the primacy of New Haven in terms of rail transportation,” State Sen. Martin Looney said, adding Monday’s would be “the first of many, many press conferences” about the project. “There’s so much riding on this,” the state senator said. State Sen. Martin Looney has led other lawmakers in reimagining Union Station: “This project is key for New Haven.” Lamont and Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez. The post $25M On Tap For Union Station Renovation appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less