NEW HAVEN — Fifteen years after the city imploded the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, construction of the first of three buildings in Phase 1 of the site's redevelopment — to be known as "Square 10" — is about to begin, Mayor Justin Elicker and the developer announced Friday.

The five-acre site, which has been a parking lot since the Coliseum fell, is at the city's front door, where vehicles exiting Interstate 95 and Interstate 91 on Route 34 first enter downtown. It eventually will be home to 700 units, with ground-floor retail, a pool, a health club, a public plaza and other amenities.

The first building will consist of 200 apartments.

The Coliseum site, at 275 S. Orange St., "is one of the most important pieces of the Downtown Crossing redevelopment project," the city said in a release.

"It'll be a game-changer," Elicker said Friday. "It's the welcome mat to the city for so many people that come to the train station, drive in through Route 34.

"What people have seen for years is an empty parking lot," Elicker said. "Now, they will see a dynamic, mixed use, residential-retail-office complex" that "will invite people in."

In addition, "it will build on the already booming bioscience sector in the city and the residential (component) includes a good amount of affordable housing," he said.

"The transfer of the Coliseum site to LWLP New Haven LLC marks a major milestone in the Downtown Crossing infrastructure and development project that took patience, perseverance, and the right partner to reach," Elicker said in the release.

"With this closing, the City of New Haven can begin to fulfill an important piece of our Downtown Crossing initiative, a transformative project that is reconnecting neighborhoods long cut off by failed, so-called 'urban renewal' efforts of the past and creating a new neighborhood within walking distance of Union Station and the Medical District," Elicker said.

"The redevelopment of the Coliseum site will provide an assortment of new commercial, residential, office, and educational spaces that will enable new local economic growth, create new jobs, unlock new business opportunities, and provide new market and affordable housing options for New Haven residents," he said.

"We are thrilled at last to be moving forward with construction on this site, and to be a partner in a project that is transforming New Haven," said Clay Fowler, founding partner of Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, based in Norwalk, and a principal of LWLP New Haven LLC.

"Spinnaker specializes in development opportunities that integrate the uniqueness and sense of place found in existing communities," Fowler said in the release. "We are constantly exploring neighborhoods that possess authenticity, connectedness, and the potential for livability.

"We appreciate all of the hard work by the city and community stakeholders, and we're very excited to be moving forward and getting shovels in the ground," Fowler said.

Spinnaker took over the project in August 2019 after the original developer, Live Work Learn Play, a Montreal company that started the plan in 2013, withdrew after six years, faced with complications related to potentially moving utility lines and putting up a hotel that didn't cost out.

"As you know, it's been a long road" with "a lot of challenges. But we've persevered and it's been a lot of hard work," said Frank Caico, vice president of development for Spinnaker and one of its partners. "But we've finally reached a point where we can put shovels in the ground.

"I just feel very proud and we're really excited to bring this vision through to a reality," Caico said.

"The city will work with our partners to develop the Coliseum site through inclusive growth and exceptional design," said city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli. "The meaningful scientific research here in New Haven continues to drive our economy and we look forward to the next steps in the journey."

Phase 1A of the project will include 200 apartments, about 16,000 square feet of retail space and more than 25,000 square feet of public open space, with a plaza along a "retail laneway," officials said.

The developer will set aside 20 of those apartments as "affordable housing" for households at 50 percent to 60 percent of the area median income, and 20 units for households at 61 percent to 100 percent of the AMI.

Affordable housing was a major concern during negotiations and review of the plans, with Spinnaker at one point modifying the income range of tenants who would qualify for the affordable units in the wake of public feedback during the review process.

The city has finalized its conveyance of Phase 1 of the site to LWLP New Haven LLC, a consortium of Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, the Fieber Group, and KDP, completing the closing Thursday, Elicker said.

Phase 1 is a 3.5-acre parcel that will be developed in three sub-phases, which will include housing, public amenities and a "life sciences" medical and lab office building, city officials said.

A groundbreaking event to kick off Phase 1A construction is scheduled for Nov. 10, officials said. A community meeting on the project has been tentatively set for Nov. 17,

The next two buildings, Phase 1B and Phase 1C , which still need zoning approval, will follow next year after plans are reviewed and approved by the City Plan Commission, city officials and an executive with the developer said.

Phase 1B currently calls for construction of a 650-space parking garage and an additional 75 to 100 apartments, 20 percent of which will be affordable units, officials said. The new housing will partially wrap around the garage structure.

Phase 1C will involve the construction of a more than 200,000-square-foot medical and laboratory building with a ground-floor restaurant, officials said.

The total construction price for Phase 1A is expected to be $76 million, with the costs of the later phases still to be determined, said city spokesman Len Speiller. Estimated completion dates are 2025 for Phase 1A and 2027 for phases 1B and 1C, he said.

Ancora L&G, based in Durham, N.C., will carry out the development of Phase 1C. Ancora L&G specializes in building high-quality med/lab environments "in academic centers of distinction," the city said in the release.

In this case, Ancora L&G will build on research and innovation led by Yale University, as well as New Haven's proximity to the New York and Boston metropolitan markets, the release said. Pelli Clarke & Partners, an architectural firm based in New Haven, will be the designer.

"We at Ancora L&G are excited to be a part of the redevelopment of this important gateway corner of downtown New Haven into a vibrant, thriving, Square 10," said Josh Parker, CEO of Ancora L&G.

"We look forward to delivering a landmark building that advances research, academic collaboration and continued growth for the region's early stage and mature life sciences companies, while also joining with the community's residential and retail activities to enhance the economic and social health of New Haven," Parker said in the release.

"The building planned by Ancora L&G for Square 10 will further establish New Haven as a regional hub for bioscience and biotechnology research and innovation, improving economic outcomes for the city and residents with good-paying jobs," said Ginny Kozlowski, CEO of the New Haven Economic Development Corporation.

Alder Carmen Rodriguez, D-6, said she appreciated the developers listening and responding to the public's input.

"It's so gratifying to see the Downtown Crossing project taking shape and to know that the input and ideas of residents have been considered and incorporated into the plan," Rodriguez said.

"The redevelopment of the Coliseum site is one of the last, and biggest, parts of this transformative plan and I look forward to residents once again providing input on this project to ensure that Square 10 promotes economic growth that is both inclusive and sustainable," she said in the release.

The city demolished the former New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 2007, and has since used the site for public parking.

Under the terms of the 2013 Development and Land Disposition Agreement, which LWLP New Haven LLC assumed in 2019, the company formally took possession of the 3.5-acre Phase 1 parcel and will serve as the developer for the overall project. Also under the terms of the agreement, the city sold the property to the developer for $1.

The company has secured $50 million in debt financing from Webster Bank, which, coupled with private equity from MSquared, enables construction of the $76 million Phase 1A investment to move forward.

Two additional development sites, totaling about one acre, will remain along the State Street side of the Coliseum site after completion of Phase 1C.

The sites will be reserved for Phase 2 and leased to LWLP New Haven LLC for interim use until a development project is ready to move forward, according to the release.

The city is seeking additional funding for Downtown Crossing roadway infrastructure. The hope is to use it to develop the former North Frontage Road right-of-way into a bicycle and pedestrian greenway park, officials said.