MERIDEN — City, state and school officials stood under a tent on the front lawn of Platt High School touting the team effort it took to get to Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony. The team, which also consisted of Platt staff, students, and others, even brought a cheerleading squad of state Rep. Hilda Santiago, D-Meriden, and City Councilor Cathy Battista who wielded pom-poms and led the crowd in a cheer.“When we were graduating in 1968 we were complaining about the school, so to me it’s bittersweet and it’s awesome,” Battista told the crowd, sporting a Platt letterman’s jacket and tassels of the school colors in her hair.The event was a celebratory ceremony for the $111.8 million renovation the school is about to undergo. The area at the corner of Oregon Road and Coe Avenue has already been fenced off in preparation. Across the street in a lot that was formerly the skate park, another area has been fenced off as a staging area for construction crews. Project plans, similar to those at Maloney High School, call for renovated “like new” interiors and exteriors and a new wing that will include a library, cafeteria, and other features. The Platt project is expected to take four years and has been designed by Antinozzi Associates. O&G Industries, a Torrington-based firm, is the construction manager.Though the need for renovations were questioned by some, state Sen. Dante Bartolomeo spoke about the importance of the project.
Dominion facility's site plan approved
NORWICH — Dominion Nuclear on Tuesday cleared a final administrative hurdle in its bid to construct a 15,000-square-foot emergency operations center in Norwich’s business park.
The Commission on the City Plan unanimously approved site plans for the $10 million project, which will serve as the permanent command center for Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford. Company officials say the complex should be functioning by the end of 2014. Approval of the plan was widely expected, after Norwich Community Development Corporation and city officials lauded Dominion’s announcement in late August to subdivide property on 24 Stott Ave. owned by Easter Seals Capital Region and Eastern Connecticut.“Normal use would be very minimal,” Tom Bransfield, a Dominion project manager, told the commission Tuesday night. He said the company will run “quarterly drills” that will drive up the building’s occupancy for “a day or two” each time.In addition to serving as Millstone’s emergency response center, the site will be used for training, equipment storage and limited administrative functions. There will be no radioactive materials on site.
Construction Institute to hold its State of the State
The Construction Institute will hold its 19th annual State of the State public construction market outlook at 8:30 a.m. Friday at the Pratt & Whitney campus in East HartfordThe event features industry and public officials speaking to the upcoming contracts expected from the Connecticut, municipal, and federal governments in the coming years.This year's event features officials from West Hartford, the state Department of Administrative Services, the Department of Construction Services, the state Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, UConn, UConn Health Center, and the MDC.
For information, visit www.construction.org.
Union, Local jobs the focus at hearing on Amazon tax break request
WINDSOR — Amazon's request for tax incentives on its proposed 1.5 million square-foot distribution center on Day Hill Road went before the town council's finance committee Tuesday for public comment and questions from town officials.The committee is recommending that the request be placed on the agenda for the council's Monday night meeting.Much of the comment on Tuesday night centered on whether the online giant should commit to hiring a minimum number of in-state and local union workers for construction, as well as Windsor residents for the 380 permanent jobs they promise to create.
GLASTONBURY ——
Developers are moving forward with a plan to convert a former cigar company warehouse into an apartment complex that they say will retain much of the building's historic features while integrating with the residential neighborhood along Hubbard Street.L.A.C. Group LLC is looking to turn the former Consolidated Cigar Corp. warehouse at 38 Hubbard St. into 40 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment units. The developers are "substantially reusing the entire building," said the group's attorney, Peter Alter."This historic structure and historic footprint will be retained almost in its entirety," Alter said, noting that the 53,000-square-foot warehouse has wood ceilings and post-and-beam construction. "We want to pay homage to the historical architectural features that are worth preserving."