December 3, 2013

CT Construction Digest December 3, 2013

Construction moving along smoothly

SOUTHINGTON — Driving down Pleasant Street past DePaolo Middle School or on South Main Street by Kennedy Middle School, one can see steel beams, construction workers coming in and out of the buildings, and large piles of dirt. Officials say work on the renovation projects at both middle schools are making great progress.  “At the end of the summer there wasn’t an awful lot to see because utility and drainage work was below the earth, now everyone can see the concrete block going up,” said Fred Cox, the director of operations for the school district.  Construction on the new additions and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls found in caulking around doors and windows started at the end of the school year in June. PCBs are toxic and can be harmful if children breathe dust or touch anything that is contaminated, or put their hands in their mouths after handling any materials that have been exposed, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Last month both gyms at DePaolo and Kennedy middle schools were completed and opened to students.  Progress is being made on the south additions of the schools that will contain mostly classroom space and the front addition that will house the media center, a new main office, counseling services, and more. Both additions are slated to be complete by mid April and will be used as “swing space,” so classes can move into the new space and older areas of the building can be renovated, said Chris Palmieri, the vice chairman of the Middle School Building Committee and vice principal at DePaolo.
 
 CT's limited natural gas capacity raises concerns

As the state readies a plan to aggressively expand natural gas use among businesses and homeowners, concerns are being raised that the pipeline capacity feeding gas into Connecticut could be stretched thin, or even run short, as demand increases in the years ahead. The three major national natural gas suppliers are planning a $2.2 billion pipeline expansion over the next three years to meet the state's increasing demand for the fuel, but if any projects get delayed it could create capacity issues for the utilities who deliver gas to Connecticut consumers, an industry expert says. "A concern that I always have is if there's a delay," said John Meeske, president of Energy Market Decisions Inc. in Hopkinton, Mass. "If you're adding load and you do not have additional capacity, you're going to come right up against it." The pipeline build-out will support Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's plan to switch 280,000 customers to natural gas home heating via distribution utilities Yankee Gas, Connecticut Natural Gas, and Southern Connecticut Gas. The plan was appoved by regulators Nov. 22.
Thanks to large shale fields in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, the price of natural gas heating in Connecticut is roughly half of fuel oil while burning significantly cleaner. "Connecticut has a historic opportunity to lower fuel costs for heating, electric generation, industrial processes, and transportation," Peggy Diaz, a special assistant in the Bureau of Energy and Technology Policy at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, recently told the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. "Securing additional natural gas capacity expansion is necessary to realize this opportunity." In order to import enough gas to meet future demand, Connecticut will need the three suppliers piping natural gas into the state — Tennessee Gas, Algonquin Gas, and Iroquois Gas Transmission — to follow through on planned pipeline expansions by November 2016.
"If for whatever reason new pipeline capacity is delayed beyond the start of 2016-17 winter, capacity deficits will be a serious issue for one or more [companies] depending upon which pipeline is late," Meeske said.

Draft report proposes $40M Manchester school plan

MANCHESTER — A special panel that has been studying the school system's needs and its chronic problems will recommend an approximately $40 million local investment in school construction over the next several years and the closing of up to two elementary schools, according to a draft of the committee's recommendations. The town boards of directors and education will see a presentation from the School Modernization and Reinvestment Team Revisited at a joint meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Lincoln Center. SMARTR is supporting the combination of Bennet Academy and the vacant Cheney Building to create a new fifth- and sixth-grade academy.
Also, Robertson Elementary School, the fastest growing school, should be renovated to "like new" condition and expanded to accommodate 530 students, the committee recommended.

New Haven Coliseum project , tech school win approvals

NEW HAVEN >> Two development projects, backed by more than a decade of planning, were granted key approvals by the Board of Alders Monday night. A development and land-disposition agreement for a $360 million project at the former Veterans Memorial Coliseum site, and a land purchase needed for the $85.5 million construction project of Engineering Science University Magnet School in West Haven were both approved. “I think it’s just such a great day for the city, and you can see just by the support of the board, the administration, the developers, it’s really been a team effort to get this done, and I think everyone’s really excited to get started,” said city Economic Development Administrator Kelly Murphy. The land-disposition agreement was approved with two amendments that formalized that the site will remain taxable indefinitely and regardless of whether a nonprofit organization operates it. City officials worked with the development firm LiveWorkLearnPlay for about three years to design the mixed-use project. The design phase included numerous public meetings and about a $2 million investment from the firm. Alderwoman Dolores Colon, D-6, commended the firm’s leader, Max Reim, for his commitment to reaching out to the community. “I appreciate his generosity in including most of our suggestions and covering most of our concerns,” she said.