NEW LONDON — A recent funding approval will keep the planned National Coast Guard Museum on track for a 2026 opening on the city‘s waterfront, project officials said on Thursday.
The National Coast Guard Museum Association Board of Directors on June 12 approved allotting $40 million for the next phase of construction on the 89,000-square-foot, six-story museum behind Union Station, said Wes Pulver, association president and a retired Coast Guard captain.
The money will pay for final foundation work, as well as “getting steel out of the ground” later this year, Pulver said.
“You’re going to see a lot of work this summer with concrete pile caps finished to distribute the weight of the building,” he said. “Then this fall, we’ll have a mock-up of the structure put up in October with that steel work continuing over the winter. This is all with the goal of finishing the work in late 2025.”
Once complete, the building will be turned over to Coast Guard officials who will set a formal opening date. Construction is being overseen by the North Stonington-based A/Z Corp.
The project’s $150 million price tag — about 70% of which will go to construction costs ― includes the creation of a pedestrian bridge connecting the museum to the Water Street parking garage.
The project at 1790 Waterfront Drive will be funded through a combination of federal, state and privately raised funds. Pulver said the project’s approximately 6,000 donors have so…
