BRISTOL — City councilors will consider a “major construction proposal” for the former mall site at a special meeting Thursday.
“This is huge for downtown,” Mayor Ken Cockayne said Tuesday.
Cockayne said the proposal for the corner of Riverside Avenue and Main Street “is going to jump start our development” of the entire area.
Details of the proposal remain secret. The mayor would not discuss them further except to say the project involved private money.
Councilors will meet at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall to hear about the plan in a closed-door session related to a land sale. Cockayne said he expects a vote to follow that may disclose more information.
The plan would apparently include the city selling a lot across from Webster Bank. It’s not clear what the proposed use is except that it doesn’t involve housing.
Most of the 15-acre lot would not be included in the deal, leaving plenty of space for future buildings and parking. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Connecticut Siting Council to rule in ’16 on Beacon Falls fuel cell power plant
The Connecticut Siting Council has taken the first step toward issuing a ruling on a fuel cell power plant in Beacon Falls.
The Siting Council issued a 16-page draft fact-finding report on the Beacon Falls Energy Park at a meeting last Thursday in New Britain. Now that the fact-finding report has been issued, the Siting Council is expected to rule early next year on whether the 63.3-megawatt fuel cell power plant can be built on part of a 25-acre parcel of land that used to be a sand and gravel pit.
If the Siting Council, which is responsible for determining where utility infrastructure can be located in the state, approves the project, construction of the power plant would start next May, said William Corvo, president of CT Energy & Technology, a Middletown company that will own the facility once it is completed. Construction of the power plant would be done in phases, with the first part of the project done by July 2017. Corvo said Tuesday that the Beacon Falls Energy Park will be fully operational by the end of 2019. As part of the power generation process, the Beacon Falls Energy Park will use 300,000 gallons of water per day, according to the Siting Council’s fact-finding report.It will be the world’s largest fuel cell power plant when it is operational, Corvo said, and will provide energy to 60,000 Connecticut residents and businesses. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Major I-84, Route 15 improvements coming
Funding has been approved to advance the upgrade of two major infrastructure projects: I-84 in West Hartford and Route 15 between New Haven and Woodbridge. The funds are part of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's ongoing "Let's Go CT!" transportation plan. The State Bond Commission released the money on Dec. 11.
Malloy said the projects will improve driver safety, capacity, and traffic flow on two of the state's busiest highways: I-84 in West Hartford and Route 15 in New Haven.
A total of $3 million in funds have been approved for the final design of safety and capacity improvements that are coming to I-84 in West Hartford, an area that sees over 175,000 vehicles per day. Construction on the project is anticipated to begin within the next five years.
The project will include:
A westbound thru lane from Interchange 39A (Route 9) to Interchange 43; CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Mystic Aquarium to break ground on new research center
Mystic Aquarium will break ground on a new, state-of-the-art Ocean Conservation and Research Center that will expand its scientific focus on aquatic animal health and behavior. The nearly 9,000-square-foot facility will house Mystic Aquarium's animal care, water quality and research operations.
The Mystic-based aquarium said in a statement the new center will be a key component as it strengthens its mission programs – conservation, education, exhibits and research – under an interdisciplinary and collaborative model entitled "One Ocean, One Mission." The entirety of the projects – Phases I and II – is approximately $5 million.
Mystic Aquarium's Ocean Conservation and Research Center project has two principal components:
renovation of the existing Aquatic Animal Study Center and,
construction of a new building that will physically attach to the Aquatic Animal Study Center. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Judge Rules Gold Street Relocation May Resume
HARTFORD — A Superior Court judge has lifted a stop-work order on the Gold Street relocation, clearing the way for resuming construction on the downtown project.
In court documents, Judge Marshall K. Berger wrote that the city could resume work — part of the larger iQuilt plan — now that it has held all the hearings required for moving the street.
The Bushnell Tower Condominium Association lost a monthslong court battle to block the relocation, arguing that it would move the street too close to its building, adding noise and potentially threatening property values. The association said there were less drastic alternatives that would be cheaper.
Keith R. Ainsworth, a New Haven lawyer representing the association's board, said Tuesday the association is not ready to drop the issue. "The Bushnell Tower Condominium Association has demonstrated a remarkable resiliency," Ainsworth said, in an email. "They have not completed their efforts to seek redress for the violations of law by the city of Hartford." Ainsworth declined to elaborate. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Mixed Response To Windsor Locks Casino Proposals
WINDSOR LOCKS — Residents offered mixed responses Tuesday night to the idea of local casino development during an hour-long public hearing at Windsor Locks High School.
Of the 24 people who spoke, about half said they were in favor of casino development, many citing job creation. The other half said they were against the idea, citing potential increases in addiction, safety concerns and increased wear-and-tear to local roads.
About 300 people attended the public hearing.
Several suggested that any deal with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes should require them to make investments in the town.Some suggested that work be done to Route 75, the riverfront and Main Street, that the project be cost-neutral to the town, and that investments be made in schools and first-responding agencies. Others suggested that the casino be subject to town property and real property taxes and that the tribes support programs that work with people with addictions. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Is Malloy planning tunnel to nowhere?
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The state is proposing to blast a new tunnel at West Rock in New Haven, use it for a while, and then close it down. Blasting a temporary, quarter mile long highway tunnel may sound wasteful at first, but the Governor says it’s the only way to do it.
75,000 cars a day pass through the two tunnels on the Wilbur Cross Parkway at West Rock Ridge in New Haven now officially known as “Heroes Tunnel.”
Opened in 1949, the nearly quarter mile tunnel is showing its age.
Water is leaking through the concrete liner causing frequent large chips to fall endangering the public. Closing one of the tunnels for repairs and shifting traffic to the other is considered impractical because it would cause a 24-hour a day traffic jam in both directions every day.
So, the Governor is clearing the way to blast a third tunnel through the ridge that can be used while one of the old tunnels is shut down and repaired.
“It’s because we cannot close a tunnel and have that kind of an economic impact on the commuters of Connecticut,” said Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker.
There is no plan on what the third tunnel would be used for after repairs to the old tunnels, and re-configuring of the interchange at Whalley Avenue is completed. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
