Soil remediation has begun
Soil remediation is underway at Greenwich High School, kicking off a multi-year project to clean up areas on the Hillside Road campus where toxins have been found in recent years.
This summer's work will focus on the southern end of the school's grounds, which contain arsenic, benzo(a)pyrene, which is believed to be carcinogenic, and pesticides. It will include removal of vegetation for the work, soil testing, soil excavation and replacement, and the construction of an area for contractor access from East Putnam Avenue. EQ Northeast, a Wrentham, Mass.-based company specializing in cleanup and transportation of hazardous waste, will carry out the work. It will be supervised by AECOM, a consulting firm working with the town's Department of Public Works. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are overseeing the work. Public Works' 2014-15 budget includes $3.7 million for the cleanup. Town officials estimate the total bill for the work at the school will range between $13 million and $17 million. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Litchfield Crossings comes to life
NEW MILFORD -- Litchfield Crossings, once planned to be the jewel at the entrance to New Milford, is striving to live up to that reputation. The long-stalled shopping plaza at 169 Danbury Road (Route 7) is under the new ownership of ECCO Development, and eight new retailers and restaurants have been announced as coming to the site. Construction on Panera Bread restaurant has resumed. Petco, Famous Footwear, and GNC all are under construction at this time.
Sleepy's and Harvest Field Market are signing leases in coming weeks, and Ninety Nine restaurant and Jake's WayBack restaurant have sent letters of intent. Litchfield Crossings, which has some 1,800 feet of frontage on Danbury Road, is the site of 127,136 square feet of retail space, including Big Lots, Kohl's, HomeGoods, Union Savings Bank, Western Connecticut Medical Group, an AT&T mobility store and Webster Bank. Upon completion, the plaza is expected to include 282,000 square feet of retail space. ECCO Development, owned by the Gizzi family, took over the 41-acre plaza in October 2013 from Danbury Road Developers under the limited liability partnership of Litchfield Crossings. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Groton school board approves building plan
Groton – The Board of Education approved a construction plan tonight as a way to address the needs of the town’s aging schools and to help solve the racial imbalance at Claude Chester Elementary School. The proposed building plan would construct one new middle school for grades 6 to 8, as close as possible to Robert E. Fitch High School, and would convert Cutler and West Side middle schools into elementary schools for students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Pleasant Valley, S.B. Butler and Claude Chester elementary schools would close. The three elementary schools were built more than 70 years ago. The plan goes goes to the School Facilities Task Force to determine whether it’s feasible and how much it would cost. The proposal would then return to the school board for a final vote before going to the town council, Representative Town Meeting and a referendum for final approval. School board Chairwoman Rita Volkmann, who cast the sole opposing vote, said she wanted the middle school to be adjacent to the high school. But she added, “I’m happy that this is finally moving forward.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE