“This project was designed to prevent the type of catastrophic power failure that occurred last fall in Mount Vernon, New York, seriously disrupting New Haven Line service,” Malloy said. “In addition, it will allow us to add more service on the New Haven Line as we move forward.”
The final phase of the project was completed on time and put into service over the weekend (on March 9), giving full power redundancy from Greens Farms Station in Westport to Harrison, New York. Connecticut Light & Power installed new transformers to replace four aging transformers at Cos Cob in Greenwich to ensure reliability and safe operation of the electric supply that keeps New Haven Line trains moving.
The project roughly doubles the capacity of the two west transformers from 16 megawatts to 30 megawatts, matching the capacity of the two east transformers that were previously replaced. This increases the power supply for trains and implements redundant power for this portion of the New Haven Line. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Middletown's Centerplan among four vying for Metro Square concept bid
MIDDLETOWN >> The city has announced a short list of design and development companies to produce a concept plan for a major downtown development project The city will interview Boston-based The Cecil Group, hometown developer Centerplan Development Company, Amenta/Emma Architects from Hartford and Street Works Studio, LLC of Port Chester, N.Y. The city’s pick will guide the city’s reconstruction of the Arcade parking garage, present a concept for private development on both public and private parcels and submit a guidebook for future cooperation between the city and private entities and developers. The footprint of the individual projects will comprise Arcade, the area around the Middletown Police Department headquarters, the Metro Square shopping center and other downtown parcels. The development is following the example of West Hartford’s Blue Back Square, and sits in comparably sized real estate. The city picked the four front-runners from eight submissions received by the Feb. 28 deadline. All four firms have completed or are currently engaged in Connecticut development or design projects. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Meriden officials present traffic improvment plans
MERIDEN — City residents got a first-hand look at planned traffic improvements for the downtown area during a public meeting at the Meriden Public Library, Tuesday night.
Plans to reconfigure downtown traffic and make roadway improvements have been in the works for more than a year. On Tuesday, residents had their first opportunity to review and offer feedback. The changes include reverting one-way traffic to two ways, removing several protruding curbs also known as “bump-outs,” and converting Pratt Street into a boulevard.
“There are several enhancements that should benefit downtown businesses,” said Director of Public Works Robert Bass, who lead the presentation. Many of those in attendance criticized the traffic proposal. Among those with concerns were state Sen. Leonard F. Suzio, who noted that traffic could increase if the rail service is expanded as it is expected to over the next 20 years.
“I haven’t seen anything to address the tremendous challenge the rail crossing will have even on traffic flow,” Suzio said, also noting a traffic study did find a tremendous increase in traffic in downtown. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
Walgreens now occupies part of the existing 16,105-square-foot building at 668-678 Farmington Ave., on the Hartford border, along with Tangiers International Food Market, Fashion Flair hair salon and vacant space.The owners of Tangiers and Fashion Flair have reached agreements with the building owners and found new locations, the applicants' representatives said. Since many patrons of the Walgreens rely on it and walk or take the bus there, the pharmacy will operate out of a temporary trailer during demolition and construction. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING
State proposes $6.2M settlement with former Front Street Developer
The state is close to spending an additional $6.2 million on Hartford's Front Street, on top of the tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds already invested in the downtown entertainment district.
But don't expect to see any additional buildings or other improvements for the money.
The funds are part of a proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed by a former developer whose contract to oversee Front Street was abruptly terminated in 2004, touching off nearly a decade of litigation.
The settlement with Richard Cohen and his New York-based firm, Capital Properties, was disclosed in a state legislative resolution that is required because the settlement is more than $2.5 million and would be paid from the state's general fund. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE READING