May 28, 2015

CT Construction Digest May 28, 2015

New Greenwich High auditorium almost ready for its debut

Construction of Greenwich High School's new auditorium -- the source of much drama in the past few years -- is at last in its final act.
From the outside, the project looks almost complete. A brick base and gray-beige metal paneling cover the building.
Step inside, and the venue still has building props all about -- scaffolding, ladders, stacked boxes of lighting fixtures and droning fans to dry up wall plaster.
A cast of about 65, in a range of trades, still work daily at the site.
But school officials are no longer fretting about completing the project known as MISA. What was just a steel skeleton of an auditorium a year ago has filled out. Visitors can easily walk around the entire complex, which will seat 1,325. The stage is built, concrete has been poured for all three seating levels, and sunbeams now shoot through the skylights in the spacious "galleria" lobby.
"We're very excited," said Leslie Moriarty, a member of the MISA building committee. "A lot of progress has been made. There are a lot of people who are working very hard to get everything done."  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

6 things to know about new plan to transform downtown Meriden

MERIDEN — With the deadline for a downtown transformation plan approaching by the end of this year, officials have developed a draft of the plan they’ll present at a community meeting next week. Here’s what you need to know about the plan beforehand:
1. It focuses on implementation goals.
The draft plan outlines a timetable for beginning and finishing work on the various housing and mixed-use buildings coming to the city’s Choice Neighborhood. The city, Meriden Housing Authority and other organizations tied to the redevelopment expect much of the work to be done in the next five years, according to the draft plan.
This includes work on a mixed-use building and parking garage at 24 Colony St., razing the Mills Memorial Apartment complex, redeveloping five city-owned parcels downtown, construction another mixed-use building at 143 W. Main St. and renovating the Yale Acres housing complex.
“We had to come up with a transformation plan that’s workable, that’s concrete, and that can be done without federal funding,” said Brian Daniels, chairman of the City/MHA joint planning group for the Choice Neighborhood initiative.
“We can do this, if we have to, on our own. This is a practical, realistic, effective set of solutions and strategies,” he said.
2. Here’s the timeline.
Construction by the Westmount Development Group and MHA on the project at 24 Colony St. is expected to start imminently and be completed by the end of 2016 with tenants signing leases in 2017. Demolition and rebuilding at the Mills Apartments is expected to take place over two years starting in 2016, with construction by Pennrose Properties occurring in various stages between 2017-2019.  CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
NORWICH - All eyes are on the House.
One of the most important pieces of legislation to come before the General Assembly is in the hands of its lower chamber – and officials from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal councils are unsure of its fate. “I believe there is a great deal of support in the House for the bill,” Mohegan Tribal Council director of external affairs Chuck Bunnell Jr., said Wednesday of Senate Bill 1090, which would authorize the tribes to issue a request for proposals for the construction of a jointly-run casino in the state. It’s a diluted bill from what proponents hoped when the session began with a provision originally calling for licenses to build three gaming facilities across Connecticut as a way to thwart competition from casinos in bordering states. Earlier Wednesday, Mashantucket Pequot spokesman William Satti said officials are still counting whether they have the 76 House votes needed to push the measure forward. “The votes are very close,” Satti, public affairs director for the tribal council, told the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments. “I think the latest revamped bill will allow us to continue the discussion.” Lawmakers also must approve any development deal that is reached, promising a second round of votes in the Legislature. For that reason, state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, and other legislators believe the bill will move through the House by midnight on June 3, when the session adjourns. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
SOUTH WINDSOR — The Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday unanimously approved an application for a second building on the site of a new distribution center at a Sullivan Avenue industrial park.
Indiana-based developer Scannell Properties received approval for a 167,763-square-foot distribution facility on 13.8 acres of property on the Sullivan Avenue Industrial Park, at 175 Sullivan Ave.
Prior to the application's approval, the commission heard from residents during a public hearing on the matter. A few residents touted the benefits of the plan, saying it will bring new jobs to town and improve the tax base.
Roughly the same number spoke in opposition, citing noise pollution and traffic issues.
Town Councilor Stephen Wagner, the town council's liaison to the commission, said the new facility will have both refrigerated and dry storage, which means some refrigerated trucks will be coming in and out of the area. Concerns were raised surrounding the noise produced by those trucks' diesel engines. "The claim by the applicants is this noise is well within any limits," Wagner said.
In March, town officials unanimously approved a resolution to offer a 70 percent tax abatement to Scannell.
The abatement will, according to the resolution, offer Scannell an incentive to develop a three-lot industrial subdivision on the land. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Affordable energy bill advances

The state Senate passed a bill late Wednesday to drive down Connecticut’s high electricity costs, particularly during winter and other peak demand periods.
The measure, which passed 25-8 and now heads to the House of Representatives, allows the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to solicit proposals for long-term contracts with generating facilities for power which would be purchased by the state's electricity distribution companies.
“To just say ‘no,’ is not an answer,” said Sen. Paul Doyle, D-Wethersfield, who said ignoring the high cost of electricity is not acceptable. “We have to come to a conclusion.”
The bill would not limit DEEP to pursue contracts with generating facilities that burn natural gas. But it would give the state an opportunity to expand its use of that fuel, Doyle said.
Though Connecticut has made strides addressing the growing demand for natural gas, it is expected to grow considerably more over the next decade, particularly for electricity generation plants, Doyle said.
“While we have the demand going up for natural gas, primarily from our generators, the supply has not gone up correspondingly,” said Doyle, who co-chairs the legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee.
He added that Connecticut particularly has paid the price for this lack of energy diversity in the winter months, when natural gas supplies often are low. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE