Union Station’s bright blue scaffolding has been hard to miss since mid-April, and it is not coming down anytime soon.
The New Haven Parking Authority is overseeing an exterior state-of-good-repair project focused on repairing brick masonry and ornamental cornices on the century-old transit hub. The authority’s director, Doug Hausladen, said the facade work is a maintenance and preservation effort that is separate from the larger redevelopment and modernization initiatives planned for the site.
After the repairs are completed, ongoing upkeep is expected to include repointing the brick or replacing mortar, according to NHPA employee Will Brock. For mason contractors, that detail is a reminder that preservation jobs do not end when the scaffold comes down. Long-term performance still comes back to mortar joints, water management, and routine inspection.
Union Station was designed by architect Cass Gilbert and opened April 5, 1920. The current exterior contract is valued at $4,765,093.50, Hausladen said. Construction began Oct. 13, 2025, and is currently scheduled to finish July 14, 2027. Hausladen said the scaffolding will remain in place until the work is complete.
Interior changes are planned as a separate next phase, including new restrooms, new retail spaces, and other amenities intended to improve the customer experience, according to Kathleen Krolak, the parking authority’s director of real estate.
The exterior preservation push also lands amid bigger transit-oriented development discussions in the area, including previously unveiled plans for two 16-story towers with apartments, retail, and commercial space planned atop an adjacent surface parking lot.
Read the full, original article from New Haven Independent here.