Depot Square deadline looms for financing plan
BRISTOL — While the drop dead date for the proposed Depot Square project is technically on May 26, in reality, the developer is running out of time.
The Bristol Downtown Development Corp., which is overseeing the former mall site, told the Long Island-based Renaissance Downtowns that it must submit a financing plan for the $40 million first phase of the project by April 24. The agancy’s chairwoman, Jennifer Arasimowicz, canceled the BDDC meeting slated for April and told Renaissance that it has to submit a package for review “no later than April 24th” in order to call a special meeting in early May to deal with it. It’s probably impossible already for Renaissance to meet the May 26 deadline to buy the first parcel because the move would require a green light from city decision-makers who have said they’ll need a couple of months to go over the material. But if officials see promise in whatever plan Renaissance provides, they have the ability to extend the deadline. Richard Harrall, executive director of the nonprofit created in 2006 to develop the 17-acre parcel in the city center, said Renaissance isn’t ready to submit its financial package this week. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
New England Seeking to Tap Canadian Hydropower
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A 300-mi. (483 km) power cable would be buried on land in Maine and then run across the Atlantic Ocean floor to Greater Boston under a proposal to tap Canada's plentiful hydropower to meet the needs of power-hungry southern New England. The so-called “Green Line” is one of several proposals across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont aimed at fulfilling a goal by New England governors to tap up to 3,600 megawatts of renewable energy, lower electricity costs and offset losses as aging power plants go offline. It is expected to cost more than $1 billion.
“Our projects are in response to a really unusual moment in time, the six governors of New England coming together and indicating that they want to support bringing additional electrical infrastructure into New England for the sake of bringing clean energy into New England,” Ed Krapels of Anbaric, one of the Green Line partners, told The Associated Press. After a bitter winter that saw big spikes in natural gas prices, the six states have come together to ensure a more reliable — and greener — power supply that can help stabilize prices in the region. “It's pretty huge,” Chris Recchia, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, said of the states working so closely together. “To my knowledge it hasn't been done before.” In the next few months CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE