New Stamford boatyard porposal from BLT is similiar, but different
STAMFORD -- A retooled attempt by a developer to build a 6-acre boatyard in Shippan as part of a larger plan to bring Westport hedge fund Bridgewater Associates to Stamford appears to be similar, but different from the last attempt.A replacement for the former Brewer's Yacht Haven boatyard and marina that developer Building & Land Technology razed without city permission is still proposed for 205 Magee Ave. But the animal shelter currently at that location would be moved to Courtland Avenue, rather than rebuilt at its current Magee Avenue site.Early last month, BLT withdrew its first application to build a replacement boatyard on Magee Avenue after throngs of city residents turned out to four city planning board public hearings this fall to urge the city to block that plan, arguing that space and other constraints at the site made storing residents' boats impossible. They also arguedt the harbor's east channel was too shallow to launch and land boats at most times of the day.
Nevertheless, BLT is once again proposing the Magee Avenue site for the replacement boatyard. The developer is seeking to build a new headquarters for Bridgewater on the peninsula in Stamford Harbor that formerly was home to the Brewer's Yacht Haven marina and boatyard.
Downtown's unmet retail potential tops $84M a year
Downtown Hartford's 150-acre northern rim — once home to the city's most dilapidated tower — could generate more than $57 million a year in retail sales, if restaurants, clothing and home-furnishings stores, a small grocery, even a gas station were housed there today, a new study shows.
Moreover, at least an extra $27 million in sales could come from a 133-acre swath of downtown, south of I-84, the study says.In all, both quadrants are capable of an extra 236,000 square feet of retail generating more than $84 million a year in sales. Currently, however, both quadrants remain underdeveloped, home to mostly vacant lots or surface parking, a signal that developers and the city are missing out on potential investment opportunities and the taxes they would generate.
The findings are part of a comprehensive study recently commissioned by the city to help inform its future economic development plans."The proximity to 70,000 downtown employees, access from two major interstates, and adjacencies to underserved neighborhoods means the redevelopment has the opportunity to provide social and economic contributions to the greater Hartford community,'' the study said.
Palmer Mass votes on $1B Mohegan Sun Casino plan today
PALMER, Mass. — One opponent likens Mohegan Sun's proposed casino complex to a Star Wars spaceship, with its bright, angular features jutting from a local hillside to beckon nearby drivers on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Critics argue that the casino will snarl traffic and foster social ills because, they say, the revenue it generates will come from the earnings of people in the region.
But supporters consider Mohegan's plan to spend $1 billion developing a casino, two hotels, a water park, retail and restaurants as a rare opportunity to change this town's luck after decades of hardship. The Mohegans say the gambling resort would create 3,100 permanent full-time jobs — more than 2,000 construction jobs while it's being built — and an additional 2,000 indirect jobs.
Supporters and opponents have taken to the streets, holding signs and waving to passersby. On Tuesday, Palmer's 7,700 registered voters will decide to accept or reject Mohegan's plan. Palmer, less than 20 miles east of Springfield, is a town of 12,140 residents in four distinct villages that grew up around mills and factories — lumber and grist in the 1700s, wool and other textiles from the 1800s up through last century. Diamond National Corp. made egg crates there and Tambrands Inc. made Tampax tampons.
Manhattan Portion of $4.7B water tunnel unveiled
NEW YORK (AP) One of the largest infrastructure projects in New York City took an important step toward completion Oct. 16, as a section of a new water tunnel set to deliver hundreds of million gallons of water a day was primed to open. The new tunnel, decades in the making, will provide critical backup to the city's two existing water tubes, which were built in 1917 and 1936 and have not received any inspections or repairs. “There is no other infrastructure project that means more to protecting New York City's future than the third water tunnel,'' said Mayor Michael Bloomberg as he addressed the press 200 ft. below Central Park. “If we were to lose one of the water tunnels without backup, parts of the city would be uninhabitable.'' “You just can't live when you don't have water,'' he said. The only way for engineers to check on the aging existing tunnels would be to turn them off, leaving huge swaths of the city without water. So, the tunnels have been left alone even though they have leaks that lose millions of gallons of water a day. With the new tunnel going online, Water Tunnel 1, which runs under Manhattan the Bronx, can eventually be turned off and checked out.
The final section of the new tunnel will run to areas of Brooklyn and Queens currently served by Water Tunnel 2. When that section is completed in 2021, Water Tunnel 2 can also be inspected, Bloomberg said.