WEST HAVEN, Conn. -- Big plans were announced for the city of West Haven Tuesday.

The University of New Haven announced that it wants to add a law school and that it wants to build it near a proposed train station.

The station is scheduled to be erected on Sawmill Road.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Robert Goulston reported that the Armstrong Tire Building has been empty since the 70s. The school said it wants to turn the building into a law school.

"Having a 150,000-square-foot law school two- and-a-half blocks from downtown is amazing," said West Haven Mayor John Picard. "The goal is to connect the train station here to the Armstrong Building, whether it's a law school or some other project. Tie the train center to our downtown and make it walkable to go out and eat, this enhances our downtown."

The law school would target about 400 new students a year from along the eastern seaboard. Nearby businesses said they plan to target new customers.

"The train station, we're expecting that will bring a lot of people in, maybe drop their car off while going to New York City," said mechanic Tom Magyr of nearby Auto Specialist.

While the law school project still must gather funding, the train station is set to open in 2011.