STAMFORD -- After a three-hour hearing, the city's Zoning Board of Appeals quickly decided Wednesday night to uphold a stop-work order lodged against the city's largest developer on the site of a boatyard it demolished in violation of an approved development plan, local regulations and the state's environmental laws. "I can't think of a logical reason why we would reverse it," ZBA member Edward Pollak said. Members of the board agreed that Zoning Enforcement Officer Jim Lunney had due cause to issue the order in July 2012 which has halted all construction activities except for environmental remediation of the 14-acre site that had been home to one of the Northeast's biggest boatyards for more than a century. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Construtcion progesees at Choate Rosemary Hall building in Wallingford
WALLINGFORD — Con-struction of Choate Rosemary Hall’s new $17-million math, robotics and computer science building is expected to be finished by January 2015. The North Elm Street building will be named St. John Hall after George St. John, who served as headmaster from 1908 to 1947. Work began in October. The 35,000-square-foot facility includes two science, technology, engineering and mathematics labs. Choate officials believe the facility will receive a gold certification by the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, a program by the U.S. Green Building Council that provides third-party verification of green buildings, according to its website.
The facility was designed by New Haven-based Pelli Clarke Pelli, a company that focuses on environmentally sustainable architecture, according to company spokeswoman Janet Yoder. The company designed other buildings in the state, including the mathematics, computing and engineering center at Trinity College, and the Connecticut Science Center, both in Hartford. St. John Hall is the company’s first project in town. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
A newly constructed headquarters for the city’s police force doesn’t need to be more than 50,000 square feet to accommodate the department’s existing size and also leaving room for growth.“My opinion is we’re probably looking at something in the neighborhood of 50,000 square feet or below, and we’re hoping to have final numbers by the next meeting,” Police Station Committee member David Winkler, a member of its space needs assessment subcommittee, said Thursday.Such a figure is critical in determining suitable locations for a would-be facility and ultimately its cost. In November 2012, taxpayers widely rejected a $33.4 million bond that would have allowed the police department to move from its 70 Thames St. building to a multi-level, 57,000-square-foot complex at 2-6 Cliff St. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Millions of dollars worth of state aid is on its way to Eastern Connecticut, after the Bond Commission on Thursday approved more than $8 million worth of investments for projects such as continued cleanup of the former Norwich Hospital site in Preston and upgrades for the Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.Local officials said the money will spur economic development and student achievement.More than half of the funds — $5 million — will go to Preston to pay for the demolition and abatement of large-scale structures on the hospital campus, including the 250,000-square-foot Robert H. Kettle Treatment Center on Route 12. To date, 41 of the 393-acre site’s 60 buildings have been demolished and remediated at a cost of $6.5 million. With the anticipated grant, the town has built up $15 million to address site improvements, rapidly approaching the estimated $18 million to $23 million officials believe it will cost to clean up the entire property. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
The state has approved money for construction of a headquarters for a major nonprofit and the city’s new economic development administrator said he is pleased with the proposed building.
Matthew Nemerson said Continuum of Care’s decision to consolidate its offices on a city parcel on Route 34 will feature a “signature building” that will maintain the presence of the nonprofit in the city and New Haven’s place as a center for healthcare services. The state Bond Commission on Thursday approved $7.5 million toward construction of the $11 million, 30,000-square foot headquarters. Nemerson said there is no agency that delivers programs for the developmentally disabled and those requiring residential case management services better and more efficiently than Continuum.It currently serves some 1,200 individuals annually in various locations in the state, including licensed group homes. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READINGConstruction powers a job surge at the end of 2013
WASHINGTON (AP) - A private survey shows U.S. businesses added the most jobs in a year in December, powered by a big gain in construction jobs. The figures add to evidence that the economy gained momentum at the end of 2013. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that companies added 238,000 jobs in December, up slightly from 229,000 in the previous month. November's figures were revised higher. Construction firms added 48,000 jobs in December, the most since 2006.
The ADP numbers cover only private businesses and often diverge from the government's more comprehensive report. But both reports have shown a solid pickup in hiring since the summer. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING