CT Construction Digest May 8, 2014

Work begins on new Central Fire Station

The long story of the new Public Safety Complex is nearing its final act, as workers broke ground this week at the downtown site of the new Central Fire Station.  The location has been little more than a concrete slab since March of last year, when crews took down the Depression-era, Art Deco-style building that had housed the central station for 73 years. Preliminary excavation work is planned to begin in upcoming weeks, and construction on the new building is expected to be completed by June 2016. Fire services are projected to return to central Greenwich in September of that year following outfitting and reoccupation over the summer. The commencement of construction marks a huge step forward for a project that has been discussed off and on since the 1970s, said First Selectman Peter Tesei. "It's been a long and winding road but we got here," he said. "It's great to see progress on and the fulfillment of a long term objective." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Astra Group no longer in business

NEW BRITAIN — Astra Group LLC of New Britain is no longer in business. Gary Pechie, director of the state Department of Labor’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division, said Astra, a construction subcontractor, was based at 418 Farmington Ave. New Britain. The company filed a letter to dissolve with the secretary of the state on Dec. 27, 2013. Astra was assessed a fine of $5,700 after the DOL’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division visited a worksite in Willimantic on Dec. 23, 2013. The department determined that nine workers there were being incorrectly classified as independent contractors rather than employees of Astra Group. In those cases, the workers were not protected by the required worker’s compensation or unemployment insurance. A stop-work order was issued and the company was not allowed to resume work until it could show proof of the proper coverages. DOL spokeswoman Nancy Steffens said the company closed soon after and an investigator worked with the company to ensure that its employees got paid for the hours they had worked. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Demolition under way at 17-23 Church St. Meriden

 MERIDEN – Demolition of a building fronting Church Street has begun to make way for a new downtown parking garage and a mixed-use building. The near-100-year-old building at 17-23 Church St. was originally scheduled to be demolished by April 30, said John Bernick, manager of the Department of Transportation New Haven-Hartford-Springfield commuter rail project.

While the building fronts Church St., it is actually part of the state-owned 24 Colony St. parcel that was acquired last year through eminent domain.  “Once we take property, we don’t ordinarily want to leave the property up for very long,” Bernick said. The property was taken from Aharon and Jeffrey Shweky in late August 2013 in exchange for $182,000. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

 

Below-the -radar maneuver might restore Flower Street

 

HARTFORD — Without a word of debate, battle-weary lawmakers have approved an obscure bit of legislation that could reopen Hartford's Flower Street to vehicle traffic — a dramatic about-face from the closed street that CTfastrak engineers spent two years fighting to get. Tucked away in the state's lengthy new $1 billion bonding bill is a 25-word provision that would restore Flower Street — now cut off by the Hartford-to-New Britain busway — as a connector between the city's Frog Hollow and Asylum Hill sections. It also reopens controversy linked to the rapid-transit busway, a fight that the state Department of Transportation had hoped was finished. Although the bonding provision doesn't ensure that Flower Street will ever again carry traffic between Capitol and Farmington avenues, it signals that one of the state's most powerful lawmakers intends to continue the battle. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Glastonbury Commission approves warehouse conversion into apartments

GLASTONBURY — A plan to convert a former cigar company warehouse into an apartment complex was approved recently by the town plan and zoning commission. The commission voted 4-2 in favor of L.A.C. Group LLC's plan to turn the former Consolidated Cigar Corp warehouse at 38 Hubbard St. into 40 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment units. The decision ended a month of heated public debate about the project's density and the appropriateness of the design of the building next to the historic Hubbard Green. But in the end, a majority of the members were satisfied the project met the requirements of the adaptive reuse regulation and the town's plan of conservation and development. Vice-Chairman Patricia V. Low, Keith Shaw, Jay Boothroyd and Lillian Tanski voted in favor of the project. The developer's Warehouse 38 On The Green project would consist of 12 two-bedroom apartments and 28 one-bedroom apartments. Commission Chairwoman Sharon H. Purtill and Raymond Hassett voted against the project citing parking and density issues. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Seymour greenway trail to move forward with federal money

SEYMOUR >> Plans to build a scenic greenway trail along the Naugatuck River will happen sooner than later, thanks to a $400,000 shot in the arm from the federal government. Money that had been awarded a couple years back to the Valley Council of Governments, from a federally funded Transportation Alternatives program, will be used to fund the first phase of the greenway. According to VCOG’s Senior Regional Planner Mark Neilsen, the money was initially supposed to fund another Valley project, but since that project wasn’t shovel-ready at the time, the money has since been okay’d for use for the Seymour greenway. “We thought the Seymour greenway was a viable project for this money,” Neilsen said during Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. Neilsen said since the town brought the Cheshire firm of Milone & MacBroom onboard last year to begin preliminary engineering and design of the greenway’s first phase, he said that enabled Seymour to get a jump start.   CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE