MERIDEN — A $20 million upgrade to one of the city’s water treatment plants has been put out to bid after more than a year of designing the new facility. The Broad Brook water treatment facility and pumping station was last updated in 1975. Improvements to the plant, just over the town line in Cheshire, will address water quality and update old technology. “Over the last several years, we have had problems with our water quality, plus the plant’s last upgrade was in 1975 and ’76, so it’s long overdue,” said Public Utilities Director David Lohman. Broad Brook Reservoir is the city’s largest water supply, covering 345 acres and containing 1.1 billion gallons of water. It has been the source of foul smelling and tasting drinking water as a result of late algae blooms. The reservoir has been shut down on several occasions and treated with copper sulfate, an algae-killing agent. Algae have been a problem at reservoirs around the state in recent years, Lohman said. Though the city has been battling it, Lohman said the upgrade was necessary. “The (algae) might not have an effect on taste and odor for some of what we have been getting, but they’ve been raising havoc with water quality,” Lohman explained. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Idle Pearl St. towers $43M housing makeover nears
The $43 million conversion of two derelict downtown buildings on Pearl Street into more than 200 apartments could start as early as next spring, developers say. The Hartford City Council voted unanimously Monday night to sell seven-story 111 Pearl St. for $500,000 to a partnership that includes Wethersfield developer Martin J. Kenny and one of the nation's leading housing developers based in Philadelphia. "This was an important step,'' Kenny said of the city's support for the housing project. Kenny and his Connecticut partners, Hartford parking magnate Alan Lazowski and Farmington developer Sanford Cloud Jr., and Pennrose Properties of Philadelphia, now join the long list of local and out-of-state investors pouring millions of dollars into urban housing in downtown Hartford. Pennrose has a 51 percent stake in 101-103 Pearl Street Properties LLC; Kenny, Lazowski and Cloud own the rest. Next up for Pearl Street Properties, Kenny said, is to finalize the purchase of 101 Pearl St., the taller, 11-story tower next door, also for $500,000. Kenny is co-owner with the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) of that building, overlooking the corner of Lewis Street. Plans call for Kenny and CHFA to sell the structure to the Pearl Street development partnership. Closings for both properties should take place early next year, with construction starting soon after, Kenny said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
59-lot subdivision approved in Glastonbury
The town plan and zoning commission on Tuesday night unanimously approved the largest subdivision proposed in the past seven years. The commission voted 5-0 in favor of developer Jack Oliveri and his Highmeadow Investment Properties LLC's proposal for a 59-lot subdivision on 108 acres of the former MacClain Construction site — an abandoned sand-and-gravel operation along Hebron Avenue. Oliveri said after the meeting that he hopes to begin the project in the spring.
"There's plenty of interest," he said. "The housing market is improving. We're ready to go."
King Industries to put $50M into its Waterbury expansion
King Industries Inc., an industrial chemical firm based in Norwalk, purchased land in Waterbury to expand its operations with a $50 million manufacturing center on a remediated brownfield site, the city said Tuesday."This is an extraordinary moment for Waterbury," Mayor Neil M. Leary said in a statement.The 11 acres of the company's new manufacturing center take up just more than a third of the industrial complex, which the city envisions as a "first-rate premier industrial park." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Cost to bring trail downtown $6.7M
WATERBURY -- A recreational greenway trail under construction along the Naugatuck River could expand into the downtown if the city is willing to shell out about $6.7 million. hat would be the city's 20 percent share of the $33.7 million of construction cost for the second phase of the Waterbury Naugatuck River Greenway project, according to a city-hired consultant. Te city would apply for a federal transportation grant intended for distressed cities to fund the rest of the project. Supporters think the city, which has never sought this grant before, will get it.The RBA Group of South Norwalk unveiled its concept Monday for the Board of Aldermen, which would ultimately have to decide if it wants to fund the design of this downtown expansion.Also on Monday, the owners of several local South Main Street businesses spoke out against the project, marking the first time the trail has met with any significant public criticism.The owners complained about the riverside trail running behind their businesses, saying that it would take away parking spaces and expose their property to increased vandalism.The expansion into the downtown overall would require seizure of some property by eminent domain, but the consultants aren't yet sure which properties, or how much, would be needed.
But the project consultants say the spinoff benefits of linking the greenway trail to the downtown could be immense, not only reviving the riverfront but abandoned industrial lots along the way.
"When you are in downtown Waterbury, you really have no idea the Naugatuck River is there, but it's no more than a 10 minute walk away," said RBA's Jackson Wandres. "The potential is huge."
The plans include a kayak launch area and a 2,000-foot tree-lined riverfront esplanade near the abandoned Anamet property, and an active and passive sport 19-acre riverfront park on Jackson Street.
Construction employers add 17,000 employees in November
Construction employers added 17,000 jobs in November as the sector’s employment hit the highest level since August 2009, and the industry unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the new employment figures come as construction spending levels hit a four-year high in October.“While these new employment figures are very encouraging, growth remains uneven by segment, region and time period,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “There are likely to be continuing variations in growth between homebuilding, private nonresidential and public sector.”Construction employment totaled 5,851,000 in November, an increase of 178,000 from a year earlier, Simonson noted. But while employment grew by 3.1 percent during the past year, construction employment remains nearly 1.9 million below the sector’s April 2006 peak. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for workers actively looking for jobs and last employed in construction declined from 12.2 percent in November 2012 to 8.6 percent last month. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING