As the completion nears for a state Department of Transportation study of a multipurpose trail along the Merritt Parkway, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Transportation Commissioner James Redeker have some advice for opponents, including the Merritt Parkway Conservancy: Don’t expect to win.
“Let me be very clear that a highway system is not a museum, nor should it be a parking lot,” Malloy said last week. “It shouldn’t be either of those things. On the other hand, I have a great love of the Merritt Parkway and the design and the great bridges and the like, and I think they need to be preserved. We need to spend money in transportation in Connecticut so that none of our highways are museums or parking lots.”
Speaking in reaction to conservancy opposition to both a widening of the parkway and the construction of a bike and pedestrian trial that surfaced during a recent 75th anniversary celebration of the historic, 37.5-mile highway, Malloy said that for starters, the wishes of towns and cities along the parkway should be supported. He recalled a plan in Stamford that emerged during his 14-year mayoralty that would have connected High Ridge Road to Newfield Avenue with a mile-long trail.
“We even said when I was mayor that we would pay a portion of the construct,” Malloy recalled of the 2008 proposal. “That never cleared anyone. I think if Stamford wants it, it should be built.”
Malloy’s 30-year transportation plan includes the construction of a Merritt Parkway Trail, for which the state Department of Transportation is in the final phases of study. After the parkway commemoration last month in Stratford, Peter Malkin of Greenwich, chairman of the conservancy, said that widening the road for extra vehicular traffic is impractical, while the trail would be complicated, since it would have to go around 72 overpasses. Malkin said that corridors along railroad tracks would be better suited for bikes and walkers. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Two former schools on the brink of sale
BRISTOL — The city hopes to complete the sale next week of the former Bingham and O’Connell schools to a Litchfield developer who plans to turn them into market-rate senior housing. The $219,000 deal is expected to be signed between the city and Bristol Enterprises LLC, an assignee of the Park Lane Group that agreed last winter to buy the two properties.
The developer plans to have 35 independent housing units in each floor of the buildings, following a model that’s been successfully used at Patterson Place on Federal Hill. There will be community space in them as well that may be available for nonprofit use.
City councilors unanimously backed the deal during a special meeting Tuesday that three members missed.
Once the sale is done, the city will have found purchasers for three of the four school buildings abandoned by the Board of Education in 2011 and 2012.
Jennings School was bought by D’Amato Construction for use as senior housing. It will also have a preschool program on the ground floor. Construction has already begun at Jennings, though there’s a lot left to do there, city officials said.
The only old school that hasn’t been sold is the former Memorial Boulevard School, which may become a cultural community center if city leaders continue to endorse it after they learn the cost of the proposal next year. If the price tag is too high, councilors could try to sell it as well. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Norwich school study committee chooses consulting firm
Norwich – The School Facilities Study Committee will recommend hiring a three-way partnership that includes an architectural firm, the southeastern Connecticut regional education agency and one of the state's largest construction firms to lead a study of the school system for possible restructuring.
The committee voted unanimously to endorse a proposal by JCJ Architecture, LEARN and O&G Industries to conduct an in-depth analysis and make recommendations about possible school consolidation, restructuring of grades and possible new schools.
The study would cost about $150,000, city Comptroller Josh Pothier, a member of the committee, said.
The committee heard presentations from two finalist firms at Monday's meeting and members agreed that the three-way partnership offered the best overall plan, along with familiarity with the city's school system and “comfort level” with the region.
Approval by both the City Council and Board of Education is needed.
Superintendent Abby Dolliver, Mayor Deberey Hinchey and Pothier will meet to determine how to pay for the study within the current city and school budgets.
City officials hope the study and recommendations are completed in time to present plans to the public prior to a 2016 referendum on school projects. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
NECR track at State Pier to be upgraded with state bond funds
New London — The state Bond Commission recently approved $444,006 for freight rail upgrades to a section of the New England Central Railroad line that runs through the State Pier facility, which will enable that section of track to handle what is often referred to as a "286K" railcar, meaning a 110-ton, four-axle car.
The funding, which will be used to fund the entire construction aspect of the freight rail project, is part of a larger $170 million bond approved for the Connecticut Department of Transportation.
NECR operates 394 miles of railroad between the Vermont-Quebec border, and the New London port, according to its website.
State Pier currently has a section of rail that meets the 286K rating from the main deep draft pier to State Pier Road, according to Joseph Salvatore with DOT.
Heading north to the facility property line, Salvatore said, the track is deteriorated and doesn't meet the limit.
There is roughly 1,700 feet of track being proposed for replacement.
"Generally, across the country that is the track rating that everybody is using right now," Salvatore said of the 286K rating, adding "it puts us on a more even playing field."
"It gives us the capability to handle a much wider range of product," he said.
The cargoes that could come in as a result of the upgrades are machinery-type products, heavy bulk cargo, and specialty cargo that any particular producer or client may have a special need for, Salvatore said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
ECSU part of $2M green building pilot
Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic said it's participating in a $2 million federal pilot program that aims to increase energy efficiency in new buildings.
ECSU's Institute for Sustainable Energy will work with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and Wisconsin-based Seventhwave to incentivize developers to enter into energy performance-based contracts.
ECSU will work with Eversource and United Illuminating to identify Connecticut projects.
The pilot program, called "Accelerate Performance," aims to tie incentives to energy benchmarks measured after construction. That's compared to the current system of comparing relative energy savings to a baseline before construction.
"The current procurement methodology for new buildings is outdated and has not kept pace with the innovations of new design concepts and technologies," Paul Torcellini, principal engineer for commercial buildings research at NREL, said in a statement. "Accelerate Performance has the opportunity to bridge policy and practice for the next generation of new buildings."
South Windsor Emergency Operations Center Funding Approved
SOUTH WINDSOR — The town council on Monday unanimously approved funding for an emergency operations center in town.
As part of the lease financing agreement, the town will pay up to $1.49 million for renovations to the former post office on Sullivan Avenue.
Deputy Mayor Edward Havens said: "It is a useful building. It fits perfectly into this canvas. I'm very pleased we're going to find good use for this building. Sure, it's going to be expensive, but our primary responsibility here is to protect the public. We don't do that, we haven't done anything."
The town purchased the 1530 Sullivan Ave. property, also known as the Town Hall Annex, in 2009. Since 2012, the town has secured about $1.28 million in state grant funds for improvements to the building. The 8,800-square-foot building would be retrofitted to withstand a category 3 hurricane. The total renovation project is estimated to cost about $2.3 million, which will be offset by the grant money.Town Manager Matthew B. Galligan said town officials are looking at possible changes and additional grants that might reduce the project's costs. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Would-Be Developer Of Hartford Soccer Stadium Has Record Of Embezzlement, Lawsuits
A Somers businessman pitching a multimillion-dollar deal to bring professional soccer to Hartford has a felony conviction for embezzlement and has faced a string of legal judgments in at least four states for failing to pay personal and professional debts, a Courant investigation has found.
James C. Duckett Jr., the CEO of Black Diamond Consulting and majority owner of the Hartford City FC soccer club, says he plans to raise $30 million to $40 million to build a soccer stadium at the site of the soon-to-be-demolished Dillon Stadium in Colt Park.
He is proposing a 49-year lease with Hartford officials for the rights to the land, for which he would pay the city the greater of $500,000 or 10 percent of net revenues.
Duckett acknowledged he was convicted of embezzlement in 1999 in connection with his work for Northern Virginia Temporaries, a staffing agency in Fairfax County. Duckett said that in the late 1990s, when he was playing on practice squads with the Washington Redskins, a friend working at the agency suggested that Duckett could use his name recognition to attract national accounts.One of Duckett's largest accounts, Oracle Corp., had cut back on the number of temporary workers it needed from the agency, but inadvertently continued for months to send payment for the full complement of staffers, Duckett said. The excess money — more than $200,000 before it was discovered — went into Duckett's account. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
A Grandstand Roof Is Nixed As City Tallies Yard Goats Stadium Cost Overruns
HARTFORD — Fans in the right field grandstands at the city's Dunkin' Donuts Park for the Yard Goats will find themselves exposed to rain and sun, but they will still have a modern toilet when they head to the restrooms.
Those decisions were part of the developer's need to whittle down $4 million to make up for cost overruns at the 6,000-seat ballpark.
Eliminating the roof over the grandstands now under construction will save $305,000, according to the city officials negotiating changes with the owners of the Yard Goats and the developer, Centerplan Cos.
The elimination of the roof — on the Trumbull Street side of the stadium — is one of 60 items put on the table to keep within the project's $56 million budget as the developer races to meet a spring construction deadline. The Yard Goats' first game is scheduled for April 7.Not all the items on the list will end up being cut. Eliminating automatic flush systems on toilets was on the list at a savings of $21,000, but the Yard Goats owners have agreed to pay for that, city officials said. The reason: a downgrade to manual flushing wouldn't be acceptable to the team. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Glastonbury Boathouse Opens After Riverbank Fortified
GLASTONBURY — The Riverfront Park boathouse is back open for business after crews wrapped up a $1.5 million project to fortify a slope along the banks of the Connecticut River.
Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said several events have been scheduled at the boathouse, including weddings and a fundraiser for the Welles Turner Memorial Library's Second Century Fund later this month.
"We are fully operational," Johnson said Monday. The boathouse had been closed since July when crews from Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman, a Branford-based marine construction company, began the fortification project. "We are busy booking events for days, evenings and weekends this fall into the holiday season."
For the past few months, workers have been using a crane to install rocks, known as riprap, along the Connecticut River to shore up the slope where the park's boathouse is built. Johnson said geotechnical reviews of the site have indicated that the work was done "to the satisfaction of the town and within design parameters."Shortly after the park was completed, officials noted vertical and horizontal movement in the concrete terrace west of the boathouse and in the serpentine handicapped-access ramp leading from the park to the river. Experts said the only solution to stop the movement was to bring in the riprap. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Construction Unemployment Falls to Lowest September Mark in 15 Years
The number of unemployed workers with construction experience dropped to the lowest total for September since 2000, as hiring continued to slow despite robust demand for construction, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that the hiring slowdown most likely reflects a lack of available workers that could lead to project delays unless more students and workers join the construction sector.
“Growth in the construction workforce has been slowing throughout 2015, just at the time that construction spending has accelerated to a multi-year high,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Contractors would love to hire more workers but there aren’t enough qualified craft workers or supervisors available.”
Construction employment totaled 6.4 million in September, the most since February 2009, but the total rose by only 8,000 in September and by 205,000 or 3.3 percent over the past year, Simonson noted. In the previous 12 months, construction employment had risen by 298,000 or 5.1 percent.
The number of unemployed jobseekers in September who last worked in construction totaled 479,000, the lowest figure for September since 2000. The unemployment rate for such workers was 5.5 percent, the lowest September number since 2001. Meanwhile, Census Bureau data released on Oct. 1 showed that the growth in construction spending accelerated to a nine-year high of 13.7 percent in the latest 12 months — August 2014 to August 2015 — from a 2.7 percent rate a year earlier.
“The most likely explanation for these divergent trends is that the pool of unemployed workers with construction experience has evaporated,” Simonson said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Plan for ex-GDC warehouse
Naugatuck officials OK deal with developer
NAUGATUCK — Two years ago, borough officials voted to purchase a sprawling former industrial warehouse downtown for $2 million in hopes of having a say over how it would be reused.
On Tuesday, their hopes came closer to being realized as they now have a plan for redevelopment they are excited about.
The Board of Mayor and Burgesses voted 9-0 Tuesday night at Town Hall to enter into an agreement with a developer who wants to spend $4 million on the abandoned, 320,000-square-foot former General DataComm, or GDC, building and its abutting 7-acre parking lot.
"I think it's another significant step toward that ultimate goal of redeveloping the property," Mayor Robert A. Mezzo said. "There are a lot of contingencies in the deal, there are a lot of obligations that both parties have, but there has been a tremendous amount of work that has gone into getting it to a stage of signing a contract, and that work will bear fruit moving forward."
The plan calls for developer Benjamin Zitron of New Haven-based Sustainable Development Corp. to build 100,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet of commercial and/or retail space and between 250 and 350 residential units on parcels A and B. Parcel A is the former GDC building, while parcel B is the abutting parking lot. The address is 6 Rubber Ave., but the crux of the land is located on Old Firehouse Road.
The price can be adjusted based upon the amount of commercial space and residential units that are approved by local land use boards and commissions, according to the contract.
The pact also calls for relocating the train station from its current location at 195 Water St. to the center of the development. The goal is to bring riders downtown and bring more convenience to those living in Zitron's development. The borough, the state Department of Transportation and Zitron have been in ongoing discussions regarding that move.
After Zitron submits an initial development plan, the borough will work with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to determine what kind of environmental remediation is required to move the project forward. Currently, the borough has $975,000 in grants to pay for part of the remediation, the final price of which has not yet been calculated.
The property has tremendous potential, Mezzo said.
"It's right in our inner core — you can't get more downtown than that property," he said.
He cited how it is right next to Route 8, has a rail line that state and federal officials are finally paying attention to and looking to upgrade, and has the Naugatuck River, which he called an obvious benefit that has served the borough well since its inception.
"So all of the attributes necessary for revitalization are there," he said. "We just need to remain vigilant and remember to stick to the plan, don't give in to the easiest solution and to make sure we have a downtown that takes advantage of the rail — that has a mix of residential and entertainment and retail — and that is exactly what this deal represents."
Burgess Robert A. Neth said the project has potential to bring excitement to the community.
"I think of course, it's like anything else — we won't get energized until the shovel is actually in the ground," he said. "But it's a positive, and we need to be more positive as we move forward."