October 28, 2015

CT Construction Digest October 28, 2015

Massive housing project in new mayor’s hands

BRIDGEPORT — John McClutchy stood behind a podium on this abnormally frigid fall day, wrapping up the recent construction kickoff for the first 93 units of his massive East Side housing complex.
“I look forward to seeing you all at the groundbreaking for the next phase of Crescent Crossing, which should be happening in the next few months,” the developer told Mayor Bill Finch and the other city, state and federal officials present.
  That would be a realistic statement in some alternate universe, where Finch won the Sept. 16 Democratic primary and was expected to win a third term in Tuesday’s election.
But McClutchy and supporters of the two-phase, 177-unit Crescent project face a much different reality.
Finch lost the primary. And Crescent’s future will be one of the first important economic development decisions the next mayor makes after taking office Dec. 1.
McClutchy, with Finch’s support, has been seeking a controversial, 35-year tax break to help finance the remaining 84 units. The proposal has for months languished before the City Council.
“Fighting over the size of incentives, the question is legit,” said Joseph McGee, a vice president with the Business Council of Fairfield County and a close ally of Finch. “But the bottom line? You don’t want to jeopardize the development. If you turn these deals down you end up with a view that (the city) just doesn’t want development.”
McClutchy in an interview remained bullish that Finch’s successor, whom voters will elect Tuesday, will continue with Crescent.
“I can’t imagine any responsible administration would not move this project forward,” he said.
The problem for McClutchy is that two of the three best-known candidates — ex-Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, who beat Finch in their party’s primary, and Republican Enrique Torres — have worked to successfully delay the City Council vote for the tax credits. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Bridgeport thermal loop moves closer

Construction is still a year off, but a plan to make use of waste energy to heat buildings around Bridgeport took a big step forward recently.
NuPower Thermal, based in Easton, announced a development agreement in late September with a consortium backed by the Danish government to support the Bridgeport District Energy project planned in the city. The consortium will provide funding and support for the final phase of engineering, as well as technology sourcing and project management. Construction is anticipated for late 2016.
  “It’s important for us that the Danish clean cluster in conjunction with the Danish government has partnered with us on this,” said Scott Guilmartin, a cofounder of NuPower. “They are investing time and money and engineering, and we hope that will move things forward quickly.”
The system in Bridgeport will utilize waste heat from multiple sources, including the Wheelabrator waste-to-energy plant and a fuel cell. The warm water produced by the combined sources will provide heat to customers as it is piped through to the designated buildings.
The thermal loop would include much of Bridgeport’s South End, but could also reach downtown buildings, including the courthouses, Housatonic Community College and the series of buildings undergoing rehabilitation on Main Street in what’s known as Downtown North.
“With all these buildings being renovated, they all should be on this system,” Guilmartin said. “It would make no sense for them not to be.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

NB brass millworks being converted to apts.

A former New Britain brass millworks will be revamped into 169 loft-style apartments as part of a $35 million redevelopment, officials say.
Mayor Erin Stewart and other city and community officials will join the developer Wednesday at noon for a formal project announcement at the former Landers, Frary & Clark Mfg. Co. site at 321 Ellis St.
Developer Ellis Street Holdings LLC will oversee the two-year conversion of the obsolete mill covering 250,000 square feet into one- and two-bedroom living units, Stewart's office said Monday.
The former factory that once churned out coat hooks and other brass parts before switching to production of scales, coffee grinders, cake mixers, bread makers, coffee pots, percolators and urns, among other consumer appliances, has been shuttered the past 40 years.

Smokestacks at former Ansonia Copper & Brass plant come down

ANSONIA >> Another significant piece of the city’s manufacturing past was torn down Tuesday, signaling the start of the second phase of demolition to the former Ansonia Copper & Brass plant.
Three large metal smokestacks, not the iconic brick ones prominently positioned above the Naugatuck River, that sat tall atop the former building known as “the powerhouse,” were taken down by Virginia-based contractor MED Demolition and Construction.
The rusted trio of smokestacks — the tallest one standing some 75 feet, and the others about 50 feet — were carefully cut down into 20-foot sections. According to John Barto, general manager and past president of AC&B, the powerhouse which lay fallow since the early 1970s provided power to the entire facility, which comprises some 60 acres downtown.  
Removing the old smokestacks is the start of the second phase of demolition to the property which once was a bustling hub of manufacturing in the Valley in its heyday. Mayor David Cassetti said starting at the top with the smokestacks will then make way for the interior of the powerhouse, along with another 300,000 square feet of space, formerly known as the tube and rod mill building, to come crashing down next spring. Cassetti said the interiors have to undergo an environmental cleanup before they be can be demolished and ready for future redevelopment.
“We’re getting a blank canvas for redevelopment,” Cassetti said, as he watched the sparks fly from inside the powerhouse, the smokestacks chopped with a flame cutter. “This is a very exciting day for Ansonia.”
Cassetti said the massive site has the potential to house a multitude of businesses, including a prospective $150 million, 20-megawatt fuel cell plant that would create clean energy, and generate a significant amount of money to Ansonia’s tax base. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

West Haven High School project put on hold

WEST HAVEN >> The $124.69 million “renovate as new” project to build a new West Haven High School within part of the current school is being put on hold for a few years while the city gets its finances in order, city and schools officials said Tuesday.
But state officials have given the city assurances that West Haven will not lose state funding or its current 76 percent reimbursement rate because the project already has begun, Mayor Ed O’Brien, Finance Director Kevin McNabola, Superintendent of Schools Neil Cavallaro and High School Building Committee Chairman Ken Carney said.
“If we started (the bulk of) the job now, the funding might not be in place ... and we might not be able to access the market” because of the city’s current credit rating, deficit and debt level, said O’Brien.
“We could have a potential issue with market access,” said McNabola.
The bottom line is, “Don’t spend money that you don’t have,” said O’Brien, adding, “I inherited this mess and I’m fixing it.”
“I think it makes financial sense to do it in this fashion,” said McNabola. “It takes off budgetary pressures in terms of debt service.” Instead, the city will reopen the closed shop wing of the high school, which had been scheduled to be demolished this fall to make way for new construction, get its finances in order — most likely including bonding to cover the deficit, which is expected to grow by nearly $2 million to $10.5 million when audit of last fiscal year is complete — and resume the project in 2018 or 2019.
By then, the city’s bonded indebtedness will have begun to drop. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Newington's Modern Concrete Adds Pink Pumper Truck To Fleet, Commits To Help Fight Breast Cancer
 
NEWINGTON — Pink is not a color you normally associate with concrete.But Modern Concrete owner Marcus King is out to change that. Moved by two women he knows who are battling breast cancer, King decided he wanted to support them and raise consciousness about the deadly disease.His inspiration: Have his new 38,000-pound concrete pumper truck painted pink, with breast cancer ribbons as highlights. Stenciled on the vehicle's gas tank are the names of the women, Kim Corriveau and Nancy Foley, with the encouragement that they "Kick Ass.""It gets people thinking about their mammogram or asking their mother or sister when their last one was," King said. "It makes people think about it more than once a year."To send that message year-round, the 31-foot truck will remain pink throughout its expected 10- to 20-year service with the firm, King said. Modern Concrete will donate to breast cancer charities 20 cents for every yard of concrete pumped by the machine, King said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEPink Truck In Granby