Costco to anchor East Lyme complex
East Lyme - As the residential portion of the long-stalled Gateway Commons development moves forward, First Selectman Paul Formica has confirmed that the commercial anchor for the project will be a Costco wholesale retail store. Simon Konover Development Corp. and KGI Properties have planned for years to build a residential and retail development on about 200 acres of land near Interstate 95 Exits 73 and 74. The large-scale project was halted during the economic downturn but appears now to be moving forward. The developers recently began clearing land for 280 residential rental units near Exit 73 and will begin construction in earnest in the spring, said Newton Brainard, vice president of Simon Konover. The residential component calls for 10 buildings, each with 28 market-rate units, interspersed over 38 acres, he said. Construction is expected to take about a year and a half. "It will be a luxury, multi-family community," said Brainard, with studios, one- and two-bedroom units, a central clubhouse and a resort-style pool. The developers will also improve East Society Road, which will serve as the entrance for the residences, he said. CLICK ON TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
NPU seeks Norwich residents interested in converting natural gas
Norwich - Norwich Public Utilities is planning its natural gas expansion for the 2014 construction season and is asking Norwich property owners interested in converting their homes to natural gas to contact NPU by April 15 to verify eligibility and guarantee a spot in the 2014 schedule.
For eligible customers, NPU will install a natural gas service line to the home at no charge. In addition, customers will receive an incentive up to $1,000 to offset the conversion costs. Customers looking to finance the conversion cost can take advantage of a "no-out-of-pocket" loan offered by the program's banking partners, Core Plus Federal Credit Union and Eastern Savings Bank.
NPU also offers rebates for the purchase and installation of high efficiency natural gas boilers, furnaces, and water heaters. Customers who already have natural gas service but do not currently use it for heating are also eligible for incentives and rebates if they convert to natural gas for home heating. For more information or to determine eligibility for natural gas, customers can call Katie Moors at (860) 823-4514. Information can also be found at www.EnergizeNorwich.com. The website includes dates and locations of community events where NPU staff and Energize Norwich partners, including bank representatives and participating contractors, will be available to answer questions.
Manchester has long list of construction projects for 2014
MANCHESTER — Major public construction projects this year will include road and sidewalk reconstruction, downtown parking lot improvements and installation of an arch connecting Center Springs Park to the Broad Street commercial district. Town Engineer Jeff LaMalva summarized the ongoing and new projects in a recent memo to General Manager Scott Shanley. The scheduled work includes:
•Bigelow Brook culvert replacement. The culvert will be laid beneath Edgerton Street and an abandoned railroad embankment that carries the Cheney Rail Trail. Work is expected to begin in June and take about six months.
The project also includes installation of a concrete arch, 54 feet long and 40 feet wide, that will continue the trail and connect Center Springs Park to the area on Broad Street that is being redeveloped. CLICK ON TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Construction industry to hire more than 100,000 vererans
In an announcement Feb. 10 at A National Symposium: Veterans' Employment in Construction, hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor and Joining Forces, First Lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez celebrated a broad coalition of construction employers and associations that have collectively pledged to hire 100,000 veterans over the next five years.
Also at the announcement were representatives of the construction companies making these hiring commitments, veterans who have completed apprenticeships in the construction industry, and other leaders in the field. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, the First Lady wrote: CLICK ON TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Nation faces painful scenario without new highway trust fund
Fixing the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) without generating any new revenue would require the equivalent of Congress passing and the president signing a 2013-level Murray-Ryan budget deal every year just to maintain current highway and transit program investment levels, American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) President Pete Ruane Feb. 12 told a Senate panel.
According to a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, the HTF will be unable to support any investments in new projects come September, and will require, on average, $16.3 billion annually just to preserve the current transportation program. By comparison, over a two-year period, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013—the Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) budget deal—reallocates resources to increase the non-defense discretionary spending cap by an average (ironically) of $16 billion per year CLICK ON TITLE TO CONTINUE READING