Harbor Point developer submits new plan for boatyard and housing
Harbor Point developer Building and Land Technology has filed zoning applications to build a new boatyard as well as a housing development at 28 Southfield Ave. in Waterside. The proposal, which The Advocate received on Monday, comes about a year after the developer withdrew an application to construct a boatyard at 205 Magee Ave. amid strong protests from the boating community as well as city officials. The 205 Magee Ave. project had been part of a broader plan by BLT to build a $750 million headquarters for hedge fund Bridgewater Associates. At the time, the state offered Bridgewater $115 million in economic incentives to take on the redevelopment. But in June, the company announced that it had abandoned its interest in the project. Among the hurdles at the time was the legal battle between the city and BLT over the development site. Since 2012, BLT has faced a cease-and-desist order from the city for demolishing a historic boatyard without zoning approval.
BLT is hoping that the latest plan will put an end to that dispute, which has also stalled development on other sites that fall under the category of Harbor Point. The latest plan calls for a boatyard and 167-unit residential development on a 5.4-acre site that is zoned for residential and marina development. As part of the plan, BLT will construct 220 slips on the former South End boatyard site as well as provide "meaningful public access," according to a letter to the Land Use Bureau. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Stratford train station gets more parking
There are now 145 more parking spaces at the Stratford train station, but more are needed.
The state Department of Transportation says the first section of the reconstructed parking lot at the Stratford railroad station has been completed and is now open. The remaining sections of the lot will open in the spring of 2015 and will provide a total of 309 spaces, compared with 122 today.
Just because more spaces are being added, don’t believe that you can just drive up and take a spot. The spaces are for permit holders and limited daily spots. Commuters seeking additional information on parking availability should send an email to railroad@townofstratford.
For a list of Stratford railroad parking regulations, click HERE. Daily parkers should be aware that as daily parking will no longer be available in the nearby Bally’s lot. Violators will be subject to ticketing and/or towing at the discretion of the property owner and Stratford Police. In addition to the parking area renovations, additional landscaping upgrades are being performed and drainage improvements installed. Pedestrian access to the train station and adjacent restaurant will continue to be maintained at all times during construction; however, pedestrian access through the existing driveway area will be prohibited during the second phase of construction. Pedestrians should either use the stairway adjacent to the tracks or the pedestrian walkway which will be provided adjacent to the new driveway. Traffic control personnel and signing patterns will be utilized to guide motorists and pedestrians.
Depot Square developer will get more time
BRISTOL — City councilors backed a deal Monday to give Renaissance Downtowns until March 31 to get financing in place that would allow it to erect a mixed-use building on Main Street to start its long-awaited Depot Square project.
The 6-1 vote also called for the city to spend a yet-to-be-determined amount on a public piazza and related infrastructure if Renaissance can get the project underway. Mayor Ken Cockayne said the council’s support is part of a continuing effort to move forward on a project Renaissance has worked on for the past four years as the preferred developer of the 15-acre former mall site in the city center.
“This is an important project for us to work cooperatively on,” said City Councilor Calvin Brown.
The only opposing vote came from second-term Republican Henri Martin. He said he had no problem giving Renaissance more time to put the pieces together on its financing, but does not not want to commit the city to spending anything on the project until Renaissance and the nonprofit Bristol Downtown Development Corp. deliver a financing plan for its first phase. “That’s not what’s happened here,” Martin said. Ryan Porter, the project manager for Renaissance, said he is “very confident” the Long Island-based developer will be able to press ahead. There are “still challenges to face,” he said, because getting financing for real estate projects is difficult. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Deepwater Wind selects foundation contractor
Deepwater Wind announced today that it has selected Gulf Island Fabrication, a worldwide leader in the fabrication of specialized offshore structures, to construct the steel jacket foundations for the Block Island Wind Farm, with fabrication beginning early next year. The project will include the fabrication and supply of the wind farm’s five offshore foundations, consisting of steel jackets, decks and piles, Deepwater said in a news release. Gulf Island has teamed up with EEW, a European supplier of rolled products. Fabrication work will begin in early 2015 at GIF’s facilities in Houma, Louisiana, with the structures ready for delivery to the wind farm site, three miles off the coast of Block Island, R.I., in the summer of 2015, the company said. Each of the five foundations will weigh more than 1,500 tons. As part of the agreement, Gulf Island Fabrication will subcontract work to Specialty Diving Services, based at Quonset Point in North Kingstown, R.I., the company said. Trained welders and other local tradesmen and women at SDS will fabricate some of the foundation components at Quonset, with the work spanning several months in early 2015. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Power plant showdown
OXFORD — The Connecticut Siting Council will open the discussion this week to determine if a proposed power plant project can be expanded, or must be built in accordance with its original 15-year-old permits. Beginning Thursday, the council must determine whether CPV Towantic Energy Center in Oxford will be upgraded to an 805-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant, or must be built as a 512-megawatt plant. The project is approved based on permits from 1999 allowing for the smaller plant on a 26-acre site in an industrial zone on Woodruff Hill Road in Oxford, a half-mile due east of Waterbury-Oxford Airport. Massachusetts-based Competitive Power Ventures is seeking to modify the original application to accommodate the larger facility at the same location. Supporters, including Oxford town officials, say the plant would provide a much-needed boost to Oxford's economy in the form of lower taxes and more jobs, while producing enough electricity to supply 750,000 Connecticut homes. Opponents, many from nearby Middlebury, claim the plant will drive down their property values, create noise and air pollution and threaten the safety of planes flying in and out Waterbury-Oxford Airport. The timeline for the plant's construction has been extended multiple times since it was first presented in 1999. The last extension was granted in 2012 and expires in 2016. CPV is hoping to extend its construction deadline to June 1, 2019. Melanie A. Bachman, the council's acting executive director, emphasized that the meeting isn't the determining factor of whether the plant can be built; rather, the meeting will determine if the expanded project can move forward. "The council won't make any decision on the modified facility without holding public hearings," Bachman said. "I know people are very concerned and I know it's been 15 years since the certificate was granted, but there is a process that needs to be followed and we couldn't just approve the facility on Thursday through the motion to reopen (the certificate)," she continued. "The motion is the step to reopen a record of a facility that is different than it was 15 years ago, and it should be different than it was 15 years ago given the changes in technology." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE