New fire station construction behind schedule; cold blamed
Central fire headquarters' new building is three months behind schedule and about $80,000 over budget but is expected to be finished on time.
Cold weather has caused much of the delay. A steel superstructure was to have been in place by fall 2014 but so far only one wall has been erected at the site at 15 Havermeyer Place.
"You can pour concrete in the winter, but not with this freeze," said Building Construction and Maintenance Superintendent Al Monelli.
The continued cold is not the only roadblock; a problem arose when the foundation was dug that affected the atrium connected to the nearby police department headquarters. Some re-design work was required, costing another month.
Once the weather thaws, Monelli said, the concrete can be poured to finish the foundation.
"Once we get concrete, we'll start on the steel," he said.
Despite the delays, Monelli said the work was mostly on budget. The contract called for an $16.5 million construction outlay, and it was now over-budget by about $80,000.
Workers broke ground on the new firehouse in May of last year, after a lengthy process leading to approvals in 2011. The siting of the new headquarters followed another lengthy discussion by town leaders.
"It's progressing on the timeline that was established," said First Selectman Peter Tesei, who has been getting updates on the project. "Clearly the snowfall has impeded some of the construction. By and large, the impediment has been the weather."
Tesei has called the roughly new facility "critically important," in particular for public safety in the central business district. The new fire headquarters will adjoin the police department to create a public-safety complex downtown.
The fire department's headquarters has been operating out of a temporary command center in an office park on Holly Hill Lane while the work continues. Other fire department units have been dispersed to alternate locations. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Regional board OK's $24M for exit 33 project in Stratford
STRATFORD — Mayor John A. Harkins today announced that plans for a full interchange at Exit 33 on Interstate 95 are progressing as funding for the project was unanimously approved by the Greater Bridgeport and Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization (GBVMPO) last week. The approval by the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) will provide $24 million in funding for various phases of the project, with construction projected to begin in 2017. The availability of funding marks a major step in progression for the proposed project that would construct a full interchange at Exit 33.
“Securing funding and regional support for Exit 33 is a major deal and a promising sign of advancement,” said Mayor Harkins. “This project is a common sense approach to address traffic and safety concerns, as well as to stimulate our local and regional economies. Residents will finally be able to easily access many of Stratford’s great businesses and will be able to have better access to the highway. I would like to thank the Greater Bridgeport and Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Department of Transportation for their efforts to assist this project and make it a reality.” The proposed I-95 interchange project will result in the construction of two new ramps in Stratford: a northbound on-ramp at Ferry Boulevard; and a southbound off-ramp near Barnum Avenue Cutoff and Veterans Boulevard. The new ramps would provide full access to I-95 for residents and visitors wishing to patronize businesses in Stratford, especially in the developing Transit-Oriented District and Route 1 corridor. In addition to bolstering Stratford’s economy, the new ramps would provide much needed congestion relief on Route 1 and surrounding local streets in Devon. Funding for the transportation project was included in an approved amendment to the fiscal year 2015-2018 State Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) by the GPVMPO at a meeting held on Tuesday, February 17, 2015. The TIP, which is valid for four years, was endorsed by the organization in October 2014 and is subject to amendments consistent with long range transportation goals of the organization and region. Additionally, the TIP was approved by the United States Department of Transportation (Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration). CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
East Hampton fires high school project manager
EAST HAMPTON >> The town has sent the project manager for the $51 million high school renovation project a sternly-worded letter of dismissal.
Town Manager Michael Maniscalco sent a certified letter to the Bruce E. Douglas, the executive director of the Capital Region Educational Council, on Feb. 18 terminating CREC “for cause.”
The High School Building Committee voted unanimously on Feb. 12 to direct Maniscalco and the town’s law firm, Robinson & Cole, to compose and send the letter. The committee’s vote followed allegations CREC had failed to provide required documents for the project to the state in a timely manner and, at the same time, had failed to make the committee aware of developing complications with the project at the state level.
The state Department of Administrative Services has said the school’s enrollment does not justify an educational institution the size of the present high school.
DAS officials have demanded the town reduce the size of the school by nearly 20,000 square feet —- or lose upwards of $7 million in promised state reimbursements.
Most of Maniscalco’s three-page letter is a carefully constructed legal document.
But the first full paragraph on page 2, which sets out the town’s claim against CREC, is nothing short of blistering. “CREC has consistently failed to perform its contractual duties and obligations in accordance with the applicable industry standards and has committee multiple material breaches of the parties’ contract,” it reads. “Among other things, failing to provide reasonable, consistent and timely oversight of the overall project, failing to provide oversight for the design and budgeting process, failing to timely prepare and submit reports and meeting minutes, failing to oversee/coordinate and communicate the status of the state reimbursement process, and having excessive turnover/attrition in the staff assigned to the project,” the letter says. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Shoreline legislators applaud rail expansion
HARTFORD >> State Reps. Vincent Candelora, Noreen Kokoruda and Devin Carney joined Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker at the Guilford train station recently to celebrate the rail expansion of Shore Line East.
The Guilford and Branford stations of Shore Line East are undergoing upgrades. In Guilford, construction is underway to build 100 additional parking spaces, lengthening the platform from 40 feet to 200 feet, and other improvements to improve accessibility and ease of use.
A new platform and pedestrian bridge in Branford are also expected to be completed this year.“The completion of this project will have a great local impact that our cities and towns need as our state moves through past this fiscal hurdle and into recovery,” said Candelora, who represents the towns of Durham, Guilford, North Branford and Wallingford.
“This will help revitalize our transportation grid,” he added. The Department of Transportation will also expand Shore Line East’s Madison station platform and is engaged in a feasibility study for a new station in Niantic. “I am thrilled that Madison’s station platform is included within this expansion,” said Kokoruda. “This expansion will benefit Connecticut immensely, it’s important that we make investments into our rail network, these enhancements are a necessary investment.”
Construction will begin at the Clinton station this year, adding a new passenger platform. Old Saybrook will also be upgraded with an expected 200 parking spots and electric vehicle charging stations. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Developer to build apartments in New Haven's Dixwell neighborhood
NEW HAVEN >> Juan Miguel Salas-Romer said he likes to buy properties where his redevelopment work will have a positive impact on the city.
The entrepreneur has gotten approval to create eight apartments at an intersection where a problem bar was once located in the Dixwell neighborhood.
Salas-Romer bought 201 Munson St. and 320-324 Ashmum St. and is in the process of finalizing purchase of the shuttered Pentecostal Apostolic Faith Assemblies at 27-29 Henry St., where he was the sole bidder in an auction held by the city. Salas-Romer in the last decade has purchased 45 properties in New Haven, for a total of 250 apartments. After getting input from the neighborhood, “we try to improve areas of the city,” Salas-Romer said Tuesday.
The conversion to eight apartments with Cafe G, a coffeeshop and bakery, on the first level at the corner of Henry and Ashmun streets, got the approval of the City Plan Commission this month.
Cafe G is also located in Branford and on Orange Street in the historic Palladium building, which Salas-Romer also bought. Salas-Romer’s Dixwell project involves converting three adjacent mixed-use parcels into a residential development he is calling The W Residences. The three properties will be combined and recorded as a single entity on the land records. The mixed-use commercial space currently at 320-324 Ashmun St. will be converted from two retail spaces and five apartments to one retail space and six apartments, according to City Plan.
The 320 Ashmun St. portion will have a total of four apartments, with two on each floor; 324 Ashmum St. will have a total of two apartments.
The closed church will be renovated into two residential units, while a vacant gravel lot at 22 Munson St. will be paved and made into an 11-space parking lot. A paved courtyard/common area will be constructed between the three buildings and the parking area for use by the residents, according to plans filed with City Plan. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE