Bridgeport kicks off Steel Point improvements

Developers and city officials yesterday marked the start of improvements to the roadways along Bridgeport’s Steel Point peninsula, the site of a planned 2.8 million-square-foot mixed use development.

Infrastructure and roadway improvements to create pedestrian and bike-friendly streets and open the Steel Point neighborhood in support of the future Steelpointe Harbor development are being made with the help of an $11 million federal transportation grant.

May 13 marked the ceremonial groundbreaking for the roadway upgrades.

The roadway project “is the first major step toward providing the transit-oriented, mixed-use waterfront development that will be unlike anything in New England,” said Robert Christoph Sr., a principal of Bridgeport Landing Development L.L.C., in a prepared statement.

Bridgeport Landing Development is principal developer of Steelpointe Harbor, a 50-acre parcel that is to include retail, restaurants, housing, a public harbor and a waterfront marina with 200 boat slips.

“When completed, this neighborhood will provide 2.8 million square feet of new construction and will offer more than 3,000 jobs,” Christoph said.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch called the development “a tremendous opportunity for the future of our city.”