BondSure, a program that provides cash collateral for construction bonds involving state and municipal projects to minority and women contractors, provides up to $100,000 to businesses in Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London counties.
BondSure is funded by the state Department of Economic and Community Development and is co-managed by the Greater New England Minority Supplier Diversity Council and Community Capital Fund. It recently held an event in Bridgeport to thank state and municipal leaders for the program's creation. The networking event also provided information about the program and future activities.
For additional information about BondSure, visit www.bondsure.org.
Putnam breaks ground for Northeast Regional YMCA
PUTNAM - If Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Northeast Regional YMCA wasn’t a big enough sign the facility will be open in 2016, then the cement trucks driving up to pour the foundation should have been. More than 100 local leaders and community members, including former UConn Huskies Men’s basketball Coach Jim Calhoun, braved the cold Thursday to celebrate the start of construction of the $14.6 million, 46,000 square-foot facility. Unlike many ground-breaking ceremonies, this one took place in the middle of construction. “The foundation is going in,” said James O’S Morton, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Greater Hartford. “Construction of the bridge connecting us to the town is moving along well. All of this means our projection of 14 to 16 months for construction is realistic.” It has been eight years since Betty Hale and her son, Laurence, decided to make husband and father Newell Hale’s dream of creating a community pool a reality. An introduction to the leadership of the Greater Hartford YMCA allowed the idea of a pool where children could learn to swim to become a plan to create a full-service YMCA, Betty Hale said. “There will be so many programs here that we are learning about every day,” she said. The YMCA will have two pools, an eight-lane competition pool and a zero entry warm water pool. It also will have gymnasium, teen center, fitness center, child-care room and community rooms. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
I-84 Viaduct Replacement: The public's chance to speak is now
Replacing the Kennedy-era elevated highways above Hartford could snarl traffic for years, possibly require taking land by eminent domain and cost up to a stunning $10.4 billion, planners say.
At the same time, the project offers the promise of reclaiming dozens of wasted acres downtown, reuniting neighborhoods that were fractured by the original I-84 design and doing away with the noisy, ugly viaduct that dominates part of the skyline.
A new two-mile section of I-84 through the city would eliminate the cluster of ramps that make many drivers frustrated and nervous, and save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year in shoring up the viaduct, according to planners.
No matter how the project is done, planners don't envision construction beginning until 2021 at the earliest. But they're emphasizing that they need to hear now from residents, commuters, business owners, small merchants and anyone else with a stake in what happens.
Between now and Feb. 20, the I-84 Project Team — a group of state Department of Transportation staffers and hired consultants — wants the public to make suggestions and offer opinions. There is no financing available now, designers are only in the preliminary stages of examining the four primary alternatives, and years of engineering work lie ahead. But right now is a key stage for civic groups, neighborhood associations, transit users, commuter councils and others to put forward their ideas. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Downtown New Britain reaping revitalization benefits
erry Amodio, New Britain's downtown district director, says CPA Justine Moriarty recently told him, "The revitalization of New Britain won't come suddenly like dropping a bomb; it's going to be like a shotgun — one pellet here, another pellet there."
"That's what's happening," says Amodio. "It's a cupcake shop, a sandwich shop, the Mae Kong Thai Restaurant, Tavern on the Main. We're seeing entrepreneurs cautiously taking a risk. Forget 'Hardware City.' We should call New Britain 'Small Business City USA.'"
According to city business leaders, downtown New Britain is gradually and slowly growing. "Despite," says Amodio, "what the business world might think of us."
For owner-operators like Tavern on the Main's Keith McDonald, opening a sports pub at this time in a city like New Britain is like a surfer amping in the impact zone.
In other words, he's catching a big wave at the peak moment.
Timothy Stewart, president of the Greater New Britain-Berlin Chamber of Commerce, agrees. He believes that commercial development is happening at just the right time and credits, in part, commercial developer Avner Krohn.
"It's great to have someone like Avner with a willingness to invest in the community," Stewart says. Then, too the fact that CTfastrak is opening in March is, Stewart says, opportune.
"CTfastrak will attract people from Hartford, and justify further development and investment in downtown New Britain," Stewart says. "The city came up with a downtown redevelopment plan eight years ago when the busway was pretty much a concept. We viewed it then as a mechanism to bring people into the area." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE