New Jersey-based Continental Properties, a 55-year-old residential building and development company operating in the tri-state region, broke ground recently on the Mark I Fairfield County in Shelton, a 228-unit rental community at 740 Bridgeport Ave. that will consist of six four-story buildings.
"The Mark I Fairfield County will continue our longstanding tradition of developing premier rental communities with thoughtfully crafted amenities throughout the tri-state," said Steven Fisch, managing partner at Continental Properties, which acquired the development site in the second quarter of 2014.
The Mark I Fairfield County will feature 96 one-bedroom homes and 132 two-bedroom homes.
It also will offer a clubhouse, cinema room, library, sports lounge, fitness center, electric vehicle charger, private dining room with chilled wine storage, modern sculpture, pool cabana, fire pit, two gazebos and a dog park.
"Shelton is a wonderful community that has a small-town feel, while also being in close proximity to local and regional businesses and recreational attractions," said Howard Rappaport, Continental Properties principal. "In fact, the town boasts more than 2.4 million square feet of high-quality office space with major employers and is an affordable alternative compared to lower Fairfield County. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Chesire outlets project progressing without Tanger
CHESHIRE — The planned $100 million retail village off Interstate 691 and Route 10 is moving ahead on schedule despite the departure of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.
“Their withdrawal does not affect our project,” said Louis C. Masiello, vice-president of development for Massachusetts-based developer W/S Development Associates.
W/S Development is running the Outlets at Cheshire project that has long been discussed, but only recently seen some developments.
It remains unclear why Tanger dropped out of the project, but Masiello said W/S’s focus is on completing the project. If a new corporate partner with the right business relationship presents itself, there is a chance W/S would consider it, he added.
W/S’s full project consists of two stages of construction. A 510,000-square-foot retail center with 60 to 70 outlet stores and more than 2,000 parking spaces, restaurants, a grocery store, a public park, a nature trail and transportation infrastructure will all be built during “phase one.”
Masiello hopes work will begin on the first stage of the complex in spring or early summer, with the outlet center and other attractions opening in spring of 2016. W/S has been given all necessary municipal approvals, but needs to obtain further approvals from state officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before work can begin, he said.
“Phase two” will include a 147-unit residential complex with two and three-story townhouses, a hotel and a fitness center. It is slated to follow phase one by a year or two, Masiello said.
Phase two still requires “final site plan approvals” from Cheshire planning and zoning commission.
Tanger signed on to the retail village component in the spring. The pullout of the North Carolina-based outlet operator was reported late last month. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The proposed streetscape project will encompass Pennsylvania Avenue, between its intersections with Main Street and Hope Street, as well as a stretch of Hope Street near the parking lot.
The project will include renovated concrete sidewalks, granite curbing, decorative light poles, and landscaping with trees and shrubs, according to plans and project specifications prepared by the town's engineering department. There are also plans to install handicapped-accessible ramps.
The town is seeking construction bids on the 1,100-foot-long streetscape project until Feb. 10, with construction slated to begin in mid-March. Funding for the project came from a state Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant. Over the last 10 years, the town has received several state grants to improve the downtown area. First Selectman Mark Nickerson said the grants have enabled the town to work on Main Street improvements in a series of phases and add features, such as lamp posts, additional parking, benches and handicap ramps, that improve the ambiance. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction on Putnam's technical park has begun
PUTNAM — In one week, construction of the bridge to the Quinebaug Regional Technical Park has gone from waiting to well on its way.
Putnam got the all clear from the Department of Transportation early last week and Tully construction immediately mobilized. The site was cleared and now grading has begun of the site.
“The bridge is moving along quite well,” Town Administrator Douglas Cutler said. “There’s a chance they can get the abutments in this winter.”
The construction of the bridge has triggered an official ground-breaking Tuesday for the YMCA. Cutler said site work has already begun there as well, but not without some controversy. An anonymous person called the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to report the construction had disturbed an eagle’s nest. Cutler said the town never received the complaint and has not heard from anyone at the state. However, the town’s engineers reported that an investigation of the removed trees were conducted and no nest was found.
“Those are very large nests,” Cutler said. “I can’t imagine how we could have missed that.”
There are documented sightings of eagles in the area, so Putnam conducted an environmental assessment of the area as part of the permitting process. The assessment discovered spotted turtles and accommodations were made for them. The assessment also revealed the area is suitable habitat for the Spadefoot toad. Although none of the toads were found in the area, accommodations were made to ensure the habitat remains. Nesting eagles were not found in the assessment.
In addition to ensuring construction of the YMCA can begin, the start of bridge construction pushes along other aspects of the technical park as well. Cutler said the town will receive bids this week for an access road and electrical lines on the west side of the Quinebaug River.
Hartford's efforts to demolish and redevelop an 80-year-old stadium to entice a professional soccer team to the Capital City have devolved into a legal fistfight.
The original developer of the $12 million Dillon Stadium project in Hartford's Colt Park is suing the city and the project's current developer, alleging that its idea for the revamped sports complex — including recruiting a minor league soccer team to play in it — was stolen.
In its lawsuit, Hartford-based consultant Civic Mind Studios said the city wrongfully terminated its contract to develop and manage Dillon Stadium for a professional soccer team. Civic Mind is asking for at least $866,000 in damages, while noting the amount could have been considerably greater if the project had been successful.
"We are disappointed in the city of Hartford's conduct and now seek the court's assistance in resolving our dispute," said TJ Clynch, Civic Mind's founder.Case details
According to the suit, Civic Mind, in late 2012, responded to the city's solicitation for ideas to develop Dillon Stadium into a professional soccer complex and was selected as the preferred vendor in May 2013. While the company was developing its full stadium proposal and negotiating its formal contract with the city, however, Hartford officials terminated Civic Mind's involvement in the project in February 2014, forcing the company to lay off six people.
While it didn't have a formal contract with the city, Civic Mind said its selection as the preferred vendor and the subsequent issuance of a request for qualification to Civic Mind counts as a legally binding agreement for the stadium project, the lawsuit said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Clinton selectman approve $2.8M sale of The Morgan school site
CLINTON >> Quickly following the adoption of new zoning regulations that encompass the present site of The Morgan School, selectmen have agreed to sell the property to The Mill Pond LLC for $2.8 million. The sale, which would close in October 2016, awaits approval by the finance board and a town meeting scheduled for Feb. 4, and will coincide with the high school’s move to a $64.7 million facility north of the present school’s location on Route 81.
The property on which the school now sits, at the intersection of Route 81 and Interstate 95, is considered the town’s most valuable property for potential commercial use, with an appraised value of $5 million. The sale price takes into account the estimated $2 million to $3 million cost to the developers of demolishing the sprawling high school building, First Selectman William Fritz said. Mill Pond principals Henry Resnikoff and Jon Hendel are planning a diversified development of the 39-acre Route 81 property that will include retail stores, restaurants, a hotel and residential units.
But the project — and the sale — could not go forward without a revision of town’s zoning regulations that limited future development of the site to one- or two-family homes.
The Planning and Zoning Commission spent more than a year with the assistance of a professional planner drafting new regulations for an “interchange development zone” for the area, which also includes Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets, other retail uses, and the town library, that would have allowed all the uses — and more — planned for the Mill Pond development.
But in November, after approving the sale to Mill Pond, the zoning commission voted down the regulations it had created, jeopardizing the sale and the project.
After slight revisions to the regulations, and the inclusion of residential buildings as an allowed use, the regulations again were fast-tracked for reconsideration by the zoning commission and approved in a 6-2 vote last week, zoning enforcement officer Eric Knapp said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The progress is also important to Scotland, Pomfret and Brooklyn. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The original developer of the $12 million Dillon Stadium project in Hartford's Colt Park is suing the city and the project's current developer, alleging that its idea for the revamped sports complex — including recruiting a minor league soccer team to play in it — was stolen.
In its lawsuit, Hartford-based consultant Civic Mind Studios said the city wrongfully terminated its contract to develop and manage Dillon Stadium for a professional soccer team. Civic Mind is asking for at least $866,000 in damages, while noting the amount could have been considerably greater if the project had been successful.
"We are disappointed in the city of Hartford's conduct and now seek the court's assistance in resolving our dispute," said TJ Clynch, Civic Mind's founder.Case details
According to the suit, Civic Mind, in late 2012, responded to the city's solicitation for ideas to develop Dillon Stadium into a professional soccer complex and was selected as the preferred vendor in May 2013. While the company was developing its full stadium proposal and negotiating its formal contract with the city, however, Hartford officials terminated Civic Mind's involvement in the project in February 2014, forcing the company to lay off six people.
While it didn't have a formal contract with the city, Civic Mind said its selection as the preferred vendor and the subsequent issuance of a request for qualification to Civic Mind counts as a legally binding agreement for the stadium project, the lawsuit said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Clinton selectman approve $2.8M sale of The Morgan school site
CLINTON >> Quickly following the adoption of new zoning regulations that encompass the present site of The Morgan School, selectmen have agreed to sell the property to The Mill Pond LLC for $2.8 million. The sale, which would close in October 2016, awaits approval by the finance board and a town meeting scheduled for Feb. 4, and will coincide with the high school’s move to a $64.7 million facility north of the present school’s location on Route 81.
The property on which the school now sits, at the intersection of Route 81 and Interstate 95, is considered the town’s most valuable property for potential commercial use, with an appraised value of $5 million. The sale price takes into account the estimated $2 million to $3 million cost to the developers of demolishing the sprawling high school building, First Selectman William Fritz said. Mill Pond principals Henry Resnikoff and Jon Hendel are planning a diversified development of the 39-acre Route 81 property that will include retail stores, restaurants, a hotel and residential units.
But the project — and the sale — could not go forward without a revision of town’s zoning regulations that limited future development of the site to one- or two-family homes.
The Planning and Zoning Commission spent more than a year with the assistance of a professional planner drafting new regulations for an “interchange development zone” for the area, which also includes Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets, other retail uses, and the town library, that would have allowed all the uses — and more — planned for the Mill Pond development.
But in November, after approving the sale to Mill Pond, the zoning commission voted down the regulations it had created, jeopardizing the sale and the project.
After slight revisions to the regulations, and the inclusion of residential buildings as an allowed use, the regulations again were fast-tracked for reconsideration by the zoning commission and approved in a 6-2 vote last week, zoning enforcement officer Eric Knapp said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE