[1] Although Grigo did not win the election, his idea was embraced in a March 1996 announcement by Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. for a $500 million[2] project that would have been completed by 2001.
[3] In September 1997, DeStefano spoke of the Galleria as a "high-end mall that will not just make the city proud, but will serve the entire region with distinction.
[8] It would have been encircled by a newly constructed road, Galleria Drive.,[9] and connected with Downtown New Haven by an electric trolley system.
[11] Local newspaper, the New Haven Register, supported the mall - to the point of a "publisher's memo ordering the newsroom to play down any negative news".
[8][12] Westfield also formed a group called the "Save Our Downtown Alliance", allegedly defending the interests of local merchants, while simultaneously threatening potential anchor stores and national chains with 'site retribution' if they located at Long Wharf.