September 16, 2015

CT Construction Digest September 16, 2015

Link between Harbor Point applications debated

STAMFORD — Less than a week after members of the Zoning Board debated their right to connect future and present Harbor Point applications with a cease-and-desist order issued on a 14-acre parcel in the development, harbor management officials expressed similar concerns.
A Harbor Management Commission committee on Tuesday reviewed Building and Land Technology’s latest proposal for the construction of an approximately 564,000-square-foot building just south of the Sign of the Whale restaurant. The residential complex would have 435 apartments.
But although it found no impact to the harbor management plan, the commission’s Application Review Committee spent several minutes discussing whether the application could move forward in the approval process despite a cease-and-desist order issued to BLT over its demolition of a boatyard on the 14-acre peninsular in the South End. The developer is now in court appealing the order.
“I don’t know how it’s related, or if it is, to the cease-and-desist,” said committee Chairman Griff Trow. “That’s a zoning issue,” said Commission member Robert Karp. “It’s not an issue we inherited or are party to.” Damian Ortelli, the commission’s chairman, agreed.
“I am thinking we have no comment on this,” he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

City officials seek options for Depot Square project

BRISTOL — As developers wait for an expected $300,000 state loan that would let them complete crucial drawings for the first building of their proposed Depot Square project downtown, city officials are taking steps to come up with a Plan B for the site.
The nonprofit Bristol Downtown Development Corp., created nearly a decade ago to oversee the revitalization of the former mall site in the city center, agreed Monday to begin working on an alternative approach in case the proposal by Long Island-based Renaissance Downtowns fails to get the necessary support from state or municipal leaders.
Jennifer Arasimowicz, chairwoman of the BDDC, said it needs “to start thinking about the framework” for a new approach for the 15-acre property on North Main Street if it proves necessary.
The project manager for Renaissance, Ryan Porter, said his company, selected as the developer in 2010, is ready to work with anyone who can help get the project off the ground.
He said he has no problem with the BDDC’s decision to create a subcommittee whose mission is to figure out what the city should seek if it solicits new developers for the property.
“We’re comfortable that the city needs to explore options,” Porter said.
Porter said that he anticipates receiving the $300,000 pre-development loan from the state Department of Economic and Community Development within a few weeks.
If it secures the cash, Renaissance plans to submit an application in December for $14 million in state aid to cover more than the tab for the construction of the first building along Main Street, a four-story, 100-unit apartment complex with commercial space on the ground floor.
Porter said that private investors in the project have pretty much worked out the details of how they’ll handle the investment. “We have people that want to invest in Bristol,” Porter said.
They’re just waiting for the state to back it and for the city to chip in about $7 million, which may not happen. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Ledyard formally breaks ground at site of new police facility

Ledyard — Spirits were high in the center of Ledyard on Monday afternoon as town and construction officials broke ground at the future site of the new police facility.
"The last time I saw this, I was in a lot of trouble," joked Steve Juskiewicz, chairman of the Permanent Municipal Building Committee, nodding toward the group of Ledyard police in attendance.
Much of the large crowd laughed before Juskiewicz went on to explain what's held up the $6.75 million project that voters approved in May 2013.
The property at 741 Colonel Ledyard Highway presented two primary issues.
Because it's small and next to Town Hall, some time was spent figuring out how to create a site that could accommodate both buildings operating at the same time.
Workers also discovered the town was losing thousands of gallons of water a month in part because of a convoluted water system.
The discovery forced the town, even after it rerouted the water to Town Hall and shut off the old line, to wait through this year's rainy season — January through May — before Ledge Light Health District would give the go-ahead for the project.
Now, Mayor John Rodolico said, workers are hoping to have the foundation in by the end of the month. They also are aiming to have the building closed in by the end of the year, which would allow crews to work through the winter. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

DOT public meeting Wednesday on Route 82 redesign project

Norwich — Business owners and residents will get a close-up look Wednesday at a proposal by the state Department of Transportation to reconstruct the busy West Main Street-Route 82 commercial strip with six roundabouts and a median divider to eliminate left turns.
The public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Norwich City Hall, 100 Broadway. DOT officials will describe the preliminary plan and hear questions and concerns.
Several business owners contacted Tuesday said they plan to attend Wednesday night's meeting. Some expressed concern that a prolonged construction period could hurt business as well.
Stefan Nousiopolis, owner of Fat Cat Grill & Bar at 365 W. Main St., said he would prefer a road redesign similar to Route 85 in Waterford, with designated turning lanes and traffic lights for the many shopping centers and side roads.
“I don’t think it’s going to be good for the businesses,” Nousiopolis said. “I would have rather seen a turning lane. Someone who has to drive an extra 600 to 700 feet to turn around just to get into somebody’s business, that’s going to be a turnoff for somebody going into a business. If you make it difficult for someone to turn into a business, they will avoid it totally.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

UIL reaches settlement for $3B merger approval

UIL on Friday said the Office of Consumer Counsel had agreed to a deal to have UIL clean up its former English Station power plant in New Haven, which UIL sold in 2000 but contaminants remain on the site. UIL and the OCC have requested a meeting with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority for Thursday to divulge the details of the agreement.
The English Station cleanup was one of the many proposals UIL made in this second round of regulatory hearings after PURA indicted during the first round it would deny the proposed merger, because regulators were unsure how the transaction would impact ratepayers. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

UConn's $79M green residence hall topped out

University and construction officials have placed the last two precast planks on the $79 million UConn Science, Technology, Engineering and Math residence hall in Storrs.
This topping out ceremony held Monday is the latest milestone in the project that is part of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Next Generation Connecticut initiative, which is meant to greatly expand the state's STEM education curriculum. The residence hall is meant to give STEM students a place to begin building a community of like-minded individuals who can help each other out in their pursuits.
Farmington general contractor KBE Building Corp. is the leader on the 210,000-square-foot, design-build project that is expected to be complete next summer. KBE plans on pursuing Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) program for the residence hall.
In related news, UConn on Tuesday awarded a $17 million construction contract to KBE to upgrade a classroom building and an administrative building.

Feds deny Middlebury pilot's challenge 
Ruling clears hurdle for planned Oxford power plant


OXFORD — Federal aviation regulators have ruled against a local man's challenge of their ruling that helps pave the way for a controversial power plant to be constructed near the Waterbury-Oxford Airport. Raymond Pietrorazio of Middlebury challenged the Federal Aviation Administration's ruling that smokestacks at a proposed $1 billion, 785-megawatt power plant near the airport would have no substantial adverse effect on flight safety.
On Tuesday, the FAA replied with a two-page letter addressing his petition for discretionary review. It states that Pietrorazio "failed to provide any new facts or information that would change the basis on which the determinations were made." Thus, the letter states, the request was denied.
Pietrorazio, Middlebury's representative for the airport, took issue with the FAA ruling made in June because it did not mention the effect plumes of smoke from the 150-foot smokestacks may have on the visibility of pilots and air traffic controllers. He said the FAA did not carry out its statutory responsibility to the safety of the airspace and that its actions are "arbitrary, capricious and not in the best interests of flight safety."
In its letter Tuesday, the FAA addressed Pietrorazio's concerns and reiterated that it does not have the regulatory authority to take emissions into account when determining what would cause an obstruction to flight patterns. CPV Towantic, the limited liability company operated by Maryland-based Competitive Power Ventures, is proposing the power plant. It has been approved by the Connecticut Siting Council pending favorable reviews from the FAA, which it has received, and an air permit from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which plans a hearing on the proposal at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Oxford High School. CPV is also embroiled in a court battle with the town of Middlebury and various intervenors who have filed an appeal of the Siting Council's approval of CPV Towantic at New Britain Superior Court. Attorney Stephen Savarese filed the lawsuit July 2 on behalf of the town and several other nearby property owners, including Greenfields, Oxford Greens Association, Middlebury Land Trust, Marian R. Larkin and the Lake Quassapaug Association, to name a few. Pretrial conferences are underway.