December 18, 2014

CT Construction Digest December 18, 2014

Single family subdivision construction underway in Danbury

DANBURY -- Construction crews were paving the way this week for Danbury's first single-family subdivision under development in several years.
Scott Lavelle, the Realtor on the project, said crews Wednesday completed the road that will eventually lead to a dozen new homes in Pondview Estates on the city's west side.
While crews have been building condos along the city's border with New York, Pondview, officials said, represents a resurgence of interest in new single-family homes in Danbury.
"It's been a long wait but it's a positive sign," Lavelle said. "We just started earth work on the project, and already we're getting interest, not just from local buyers but also from people across the line in Westchester County looking to downsize. It shows that there has been a lot of pent-up demand for this kind of product. There haven't been any new single-family homes available in the area for quite a while." The custom-built homes likely will fall into the $600,000 to $750,000 range, Lavelle said. Many floor plans will be available, including colonials with first-floor master bedrooms, a feature appreciated by older couples looking to downsize.
The plans call for single-family homes on partially wooded two-acre lots. The property, a total of about 38 acres, abuts Corner Pond.
"We can provide buyers with a floor plan, we can tweak the plans to their liking, or we can price out a floor plan that they provide to us if they like," Lavelle said. "Each of the homes will be custom-built to the owners' liking."  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Downtown Meriden development proposals due Friday

MERIDEN — Proposals for the development of six city-owned downtown properties will be made public Friday afternoon.
Four firms were asked to submit plans for the former Meriden-Wallingford Hospital building on Cook Avenue, an empty parcel at 25-33 Colony St., three acres around the Hub property, the Record-Journal building at 11 Crown St., the former medical office building at 116 Cook Ave., and the Factory H property near Cooper Street.  “I’m very interested to see what kind of proposals the firms come up with and what ideas they have, and to see how that fits in with what we’ve been planning,” City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior said.Plans will be opened in City Hall at 3 p.m. Friday. City officials will inspect plans Friday, but a more comprehensive analysis will take place in the coming months.“We expect to make some choices and have discussions with interested firms by January or February,”  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
SOUTHINGTON — North Ridge Golf Club on Welch Road will remain a full 18-hole course for next year’s season despite development on unused land around it.
Local developer Mark Lovley bought the 140-acre property earlier this year and was approved by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission to build 94 houses on the site. Those houses are being built on land that doesn’t interfere with the golf course, he said.
Lovley closed on the former Pine Valley Golf Course earlier this year. He said the former owners expected him to develop the entire 140-acre property, but Lovley wanted to maintain at least a portion of the course. It’s a feature that those looking to move into Southington appreciate, he said, and golf is a popular sport. “I looked at the way golf is going,” Lovley said.
The golf course will remain at 18 holes until 2016 when Lovley said the course will transition to nine holes to allow development on the front nine holes. He also wants to build a new clubhouse and hopes to expand back to 18 holes at some point with land he hopes to buy on Welch Road. Lovley is also planning to build a pool to expand what’s offered at the club.
About half of the approved 94 houses have been sold, Lovley said, and 14 are still under construction. Gary Mancino, a real estate agent working with Lovley Development, said the open land of the golf course is a major selling point. Many of the home buyers are from outside Connecticut and are used to living in open areas not usually found in the densely developed Northeast. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
Ken Olson, the president of POKO Partners, keeps two words on his desk: "relentless pursuit."
Those words would also describe his firm's 10-year effort to renovate the Thread Mill in Pawcatuck, despite the recession and challenges involved in putting together the financing for the $25 million project. Last week, POKO held a ceremony attended by state and local officials to formally break ground on the project that will transform the dilapidated 19th-century mill into 58 one- and two- bedroom apartments, 30 percent of which will be affordable under state guidelines, as well as 9,000 square feet of commercial space. Work on the site began earlier this fall.
"This project has been a long time coming," Olson told the group gathered next to the River Road mill. "We are very, very excited about this project and what it will do for this community."
Later as they toured the third floor with its rows of 15-foot high windows and where sandblasting has revealed pristine wooden ceilings, beams and support posts along with brick walls, Olson said his firm had the "horrible timing" of trying to start work on the project as the recession hit. The town approved permits for the work in 2006.
"But we were big believers in this project. We love historic preservation and adaptive reuse," he said. "It's a complicated structure but fortunately we have great partners and we finally got everything in place." Representatives of many of those partners were on hand at the Dec.11 groundbreaking, including the state Department of Housing, state Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and state Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington.
POKO has obtained tax-exempt, low-interest bonds from CHFA, state and federal tax credits, $750,000 in state brownfields funding, as well as funding from the state's Competitive Housing Assistance for Multifamily Properties. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Buildings demolished as part of Berlin train station project

BERLIN — Five empty buildings, three owned by the town and two by the state, are being demolished along a short stretch of Farmington Avenue.Four of the five were demolished this fall and the last parcel, owned by the town, is being razed now."The two owned by the state were torn down in preparation for the new high-speed railroad train," Town Manager Denise McNair said Wednesday. "The town's parcels were vacant and dangerous, so are being cleared for public safety."
The buildings at 903-913 Farmington were removed last month. Demolition began this month at the last parcel, the former Pioneer Precision Products at 889 Farmington.
The town hopes to use the 903-913 lot for a new police station. A proposed $21 million station for that site was rejected Nov. 4 in a referendum, so it's not clear when or if a new station will be built there. The town police commission is meeting weekly to review the proposal and see how it can be revised in a way voters will approve. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Downtown Rockville redevelopment abandoned in favor of mill conversions

A specialty mortgage company has abandoned an ambitious, $120 million plan to redevelop the heart of downtown Rockville and to move its offices there — but it is now pursuing a new plan involving the renovation of two former textile mill buildings just to the east.
John DiIorio, chief executive of 1st Alliance Lending in East Hartford, said Wednesday that it became clear this summer that negotiations with the owners of a handful of properties — mostly sprawling parking lots and aging shopping plazas — that the puzzle pieces wouldn't come together, even after a year of talks.
"Basically, we got to the point that we weren't going to be able to obtain the properties we needed for this," DiIorio said. "We made some generous offers." 
DiIorio's much-heralded revitalization plan for downtown Rockville, a section of Vernon, envisioned a system of buildings with office space over street-level shops and restaurants. The parking lots would have given way to two garages. DiIorio's firm, Ist Alliance, would have become the anchor tenant, bringing with it 1,100 much-needed jobs by 2020.
Certainly, DiIorio said, he is disappointed his vision did not become reality. But, he said, he believes the renovation of the former Amerbelle Mill, now vacant, and the Daniels Mill, used for a self-storage business, will have the same economic punch for downtown.
"We are still going to be there," DiIorio said. "We're talking an eighth of a mile away. We're just up the hill a bit." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Torrington eyes repaire, walkway for Bogue Road bridge

TORRINGTON >> The city is seeking to repair a bridge on Bouge Road while adding a pedestrian walkway that could help it connect to a trail.
City Engineer Ed Fabbri briefly discussed the city’s efforts to repair the bridge during Monday’s City Council meeting after the City Council approved $40,305 in appropriated funds from the Northwest Hills Council of Governments to conduct a feasibility study for a greenway trail following the Naugatuck River from Palmer Bridge Street to Bogue Road.  Fabbri declined to comment further on Thursday. Public Works Director Jerry Rollett said the city has been attempting to repair the bridge for several years, as its last major repair took place about four years ago. Since then, the city has regularly patched up the bridge, a temporary fix for its surface area.
“The surface is deteriorating,” Rollett said. “It’s continuing to deteriorate so we need a more permanent repair of that bridge.” Rollett estimated that a full bridge repair would cost somewhere in the range of a half million dollars, though the city won’t know more precise amounts until more research is conducted. An engineer has looked at the bridge, Rollett said, and they said that the bridge’s deck needs to be replaced, with additional minor work needed for the bridge’s abutments.
“We cannot continue to go in there, patching the surfaces,” Rollett said. “It’s just not a long-term solution.” The feasibility study is being completed by Tectonic Engineering & Surveying Consultants P.C. of Rocky Hill. Rollett said the study will help the city gather more information about future costs, adding that the progress of such a repair is in the “preliminary budgeting stages.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Torrington submits design for $52M renovations to watewater plant

TORRINGTON >> The city’s wastewater management department has submitted an engineering design agreement to the state, the first step for the department’s multi-year, $52 million facilities upgrade project. Torrington’s Water Pollution Control Authority Administrator Ray Drew said  Wednesday that the agreement has been submitted for approval from the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).  “Basically, that’s the agreement between the city of Torrington and our engineers, Wright Pierce, to do the design for the facilities upgrade,” Drew said.
The agreement contains planning and design details regarding the $52 million worth of mandated facilities upgrades. “They have issued some comments in regards to the design agreements, so we are addressing those comments and we are waiting for approval of that design agreement,” Drew said. The agreement is expected to be approved within the next two months. The multimillion dollar renovations will help the 75-year-old Water Pollution Control Facility on Bogue Road in Torrington meet more stringent environmental mandates. The $52 million bonding package paying for the renovations, which is being split between an $11 million state grant and a 20-year loan paid by the city of Torrington, was approved by Torrington voters in November. The agreement’s approval would ensure the facility’s upgrades remain eligible for a clean water grant-loan funding. Once the design agreement is approved, Drew said his department will submit an application for clean water funding for the design costs. “Once that gets approved, we will proceed with the design,” Drew said. “The anticipated design is about 18 months. That’s kind of the status of where we are now.”
The projects timeline marks February 2017 as the starting date for on-site construction, while the renovated plant won’t be operational until late 2019 or early 2020. The city would begin repaying its loan once the plant is operational with its renovations. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE