A new community is taking shape at Smith Cove. Just across Steamboat Road from the Delamar, an 11-unit development, dubbed The Harbor at Greenwich, is springing to life as the ground thaws from the long winter. Five single-family homes and six condominiums are planned for what will be a gated community at 2 Oneida Drive, said listing agent Michele Tesei of Houlihan Lawrence.
"I think we're going to get a nice, diverse group of people," Tesei said Tuesday morning as she stood in front of building A, which houses two condominiums; one is 6,800 square feet and runs through four levels, while the other is 4,933 square feet stretching over two levels. "Some of the residents may be people who are here six months out of the year and then go to Florida," she continued. "We'll also get families and couples that still want a good sized home, but maybe don't want all the upkeep that comes with a home, and our association will take care of all the grounds and the snow removal, all those things." Homes will start at $3.5 million for first-floor condominium units; second-floor condominium units will start at $4.5 million and houses will go for slightly more, said Tesei, who pointed to Residence E, a single-family home going up against the water's edge. It was recently listed for $5.3 million. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Streetscape project continues to evolve
NEW BRITAIN — The prospect of more space for downtown’s Central Park and more parking were among the topics City Engineer Rob Trottier discussed with merchants Tuesday to give an update on the Downtown Streetscape plan. Trottier said the plan calls for Central Park to be at least 10 percent larger and possibly include a portable skating rink. The park will be extended in front of TD Bank on Main Street and promises to be “lighter and more inviting,” Trottier said. He added that parking will be added in front of City Hall and TD Bank and that Court Street might be converted to two-way traffic. “Already we see the potential changes in the project,” said Gerry Amodio, downtown district director. “People tell me they can’t wait to walk downtown.” Amodio said the intersection of Chestnut and Main Street will become broader. “The area will be safer for people to walk,” he said. “It has more of a town feel rather than an urban center. It invites more activity on the street.”
Others at the downtown district meeting said the changes can showcase some of the city’s natural beauty. For example, there will be groves of trees and a wider sidewalk on Chestnut Street in front of Firestone. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
$400,000 in slip-upos irk city panel
MERIDEN — Rep-resentatives from the architectural firm for the city’s ongoing high school projects told members of the School Building Committee Thursday they had made roughly $400,000 worth of errors in designs for the next phase of construction at Maloney High School, a bill the city is expected to foot. Angela Cahill, project manager from architectural firm Fletcher-Thompson, Inc., said they’d discovered six steel errors last month in certain aspects of the design for the freshman academy at Maloney, or “Area M.” That area, which will involve heavy renovations to an existing wing of the school, is the next phase of a $107 million construction project at the high school, a project expected to be completed by 2017. “We’ll have to make sizeable steel changes in the next phase of construction; a ballpark estimate of which is $400,000,” Cahill said. Before Whitney McNulty, the head of construction engineering for Fletcher Thompson, could outline those errors however, School Building Committee member Bruce Fontanella asked Cahill, “Is Fletcher-Thompson going to pick up the ticket for these errors that you made? Is there some time in the future that you’d pick up 100 percent of the cost?” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Transportation funding issue illustrates problem of driving being to cheap
Editorial
Washington is again playing chicken with the country's economy. This time it's not by shutting down the government, but by failing, at least at the moment, to sustain its transportation infrastructure.
Federal transportation funding, which accounts for 55 percent of transportation projects across the country (49 percent in Connecticut this year) is about to hit the wall. The current federal surface transportation bill, known as MAP 21, runs out on Nov. 1. It's principal means of support, the Highway Trust Fund, is scheduled to go broke in September.
Unless Congress acts (never a certainty), money for highway, bridge and transit projects will slow and then stop, like a car running out of gas. Some 700,000 jobs will be jeopardized, according to the White House. Some states that rely heavily on federal funds — Rhode Island is one — have halted new projects until the matter is resolved. Some states are raising more of their own funds to avoid the volatility. Connecticut has enough of its own funds to continue existing projects, said state Transportation Commissioner James Redeker. This is crazy. Major transportation infrastructure projects cross states lines, must meet federal construction and safety standards, and should receive federal funds. The transportation network makes the economy work. This is, and always has been, a function of the federal government. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction firms worried about worker shortage
DENVER (AP) - The U.S. construction industry says it's in danger of running short on workers to keep up with the demand for building projects, as employees age and more teens are pushed to go to college. To counter the effect, a top construction trade group kicked off an effort this week to help bolster the employment ranks. The plan by the Associated General Contractors of America, which represents 30,000 companies, aims to draw more people into building trades by establishing charter schools focused on technical training, starting non-union apprenticeship programs and pushing for immigration reform. The employment concern comes despite the fact that more than 2 million construction workers were laid off during the recession. The group believes many of the laid-off workers have since found work in other fields or have retired. Meanwhile, about 44 percent of the construction workforce is age 45 or older and nearly one of every five construction workers is 55 or older, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE