December 8, 2015

CT Construction Digest December 8, 2015

Town planner objects to Greenwich substation plan

The final word on a proposed electrical substation in Greenwich has not yet come down from the Connecticut Siting Council, but Town Planner Katie DeLuca is renewing objections to the idea.
Under the current plan, Eversource would build the substation at 290 Railroad Ave., the current site of Pet Pantry. Underground electrical cable would then connect the substation to the existing one in Cos Cob.
 Eversource has said the new substation is needed to meet growing demand for electrical power in Greenwich.
But in a Nov. 23 letter to the Siting Council, which has the authority to decide whether or not the substation goes forward, DeLuca said the utility has not demonstrated the need for the substation.
Since the project was first announced, members of the community have questioned the need and expressed concerns about both the environmental and aesthetic impact on Railroad Avenue, Bruce Park and nearby neighborhoods.
The electrical load projections Eversource used to support the project are “in fact not there,” DeLuca wrote, adding “even if there was a need the ... vastly less expensive and certainly more environmentally sensitive alternatives have not been adequately explored”
Frank Poirot, spokesman for Eversource said Monday the utility was still reviewing DeLuca’s letter. He insisted the demand for energy is growing and making the need for a new substation more urgent. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Apartments Proposed For Glastonbury's Somerset Square

GLASTONBURY — A residential component may soon join the retail stores, restaurants, office buildings and hotels of Somerset Square.
Spinnaker Real Estate Partners of Norwalk is proposing to build a five-story apartment complex at 75 Glastonbury Boulevard — the lone remaining empty lot at Somerset Square. The lot is to the south of Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites hotels.
A plan to develop the land has been in existence since 2008 when PRA Development proposed a 155-unit apartment building with an underground garage. The plan never went forward. Spinnaker plans to use the same blueprint without the underground garage, which is no longer feasible due to floodplain and soil issues.
"Between the economic limitations and physical limitations, no developer could come up with a feasible plan for underground parking," said attorney Peter J. Alter, who is representing Spinnaker. The new proposal will include ground level parking underneath four floors of living space.
The proposal includes about 50, one-bedroom apartments with 800-850 square feet of living space and 102, two-bedroom apartments with 1,000-1,200 square feet of space. The rents would run $1,700 for the one-bedrooms and $2,500-$2,800 for the two-bedroom apartments. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Labor, Business and Municipalities Press For Reform Following Summit

Three groups often at odds came together last month to imagine a new economic future for Connecticut.
On Monday, they issued a joint report that calls for more regional cooperation, establishing a lock box for transportation funds and overhauling the process of crafting a state budget.
"The notion of bringing disparate groups together to find out the things they agree on...can [serve as a] model to go forward to get things done that would help Connecticut economy,'' said Kevin Maloney, spokesman for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.
CCM joined with the Connecticut Business and Industry Council and the Connecticut AFL-CIO at the summit last month. The groups recommendations include:
*Reforming the "implementer" bill for the state budget. The massive piece of legislation that sets the terms for the budget is often passed in the waning hours of the legislative session, with little opportunity for public input. "You can't have unvetted state laws,'' Maloney said. "There has to be a better way."
*Provide a clear and streamlined process for the consolidation of public schools with declining enrollment and provide financial incentives to school districts that cooperate on a regional level.
*Establish a "lock box" to ensure funding for transportation projects is not diverted to other needs.
*Create a unified panel of education and municipal leaders to best address the burdens of unfunded state mandates.
More than 175 officials from business, labor and government attended the first-of-its kind summit in mid-November.

Griebel: Rushing CT’s transportation ‘lockbox’ is a mistake

State officials will move forward Tuesday with new constitutional language to protect transportation spending, despite warnings Monday from one of Connecticut’s staunchest “lockbox” advocates that a hurried approach could lead to trouble.
R. Nelson “Oz” Griebel, president of the MetroHartford Alliance, wrote that while a constitutional lockbox remains crucial, officials should wait until after a transportation finance study panel finishes its work in January.
Griebel, who serves on the Transportation Finance Panel, also urged officials to learn from the example of Connecticut’s constitutional spending cap.
“While we fully understand the critical importance of passing a resolution to put a well-crafted amendment before the voters on Nov. 8, 2016, we urge you to postpone the requisite debate and action,” Griebel wrote to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, adding the matter could be addressed once the regular 2016 legislative session begins on Feb. 3.
The business leader, who chaired the former state Transportation Strategy Board, noted that the present study group will issue recommendations next month on how to finance state transportation investments for the next three decades?
How can lawmakers effectively shield the revenue streams that support transportation until it knows what funding sources — such as tolls or gasoline tax increases — will be chosen to pay for these improvements?
“Such increases and new sources will generate both concern and controversy, and the ultimate approval of the constitutional resolution by both the Senate and House will be achieved only with the broad support of voters and private-sector employers,” Griebel wrote. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Development at former New Haven bus depot site moves ahead

NEW HAVEN >> The city is moving closer to nailing down a final deal for the evolution of the former Connecticut Co.’s bus depot to a tech campus that will also offer entertainment options along the Mill River.
Alders have been sent the proposed development and land dispostion agreement for 470 James St. where the owners of Digital Surgeons and Urbane NewHaven have formed a new company, District NHV LLC, to construct the estimated $20 million project.
David Salinas of Digital Surgeons and Eric O’Brien of both CrossFit and Urbane NewHaven are the principals in the project that aims to provide a space for current digital companies to grow, while setting aside some 10 percent of the building as incubator space for up-and-coming tech operators.
The state will transfer the almost 7 acres of land near exits 5 and 6 off Interstate 91 to the city, which in turn will give the abandoned garage and maintenance facility to District NHV LLC for $1. In private hands, the large site would become a tax generator for the city, rather than tax-exempt state property.
“Adding more new, mixed-use space would bring even more vibrancy to the city and would be great news for the residents of New Haven,” Alder President Tyisha Walker of Ward 23 said in a statement.
Salinas’ and O’Brien’s plans were chosen over a proposal by Jason Carter for the prime development site.
Carter, a New York developer who owns the former trolley barn across from the bus depot at 1175 State St., had hoped to bring in big-box stores for his site and the 470 James St. property with a shared parking garage key to both properties. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

State stakes out 10 acres needed for work on Mixmaster 


WATERBURY — The state will seize about 10 acres of commercial land on Jackson Street to make way for the short-term Mixmaster rehabilitation project.
The Department of Transportation has just begun acquisition talks with the three land owners — Eversource, Yankee Gas, and Laidlaw Transit, said the DOT's Michelle Miller.
The state will go to court to take the land if necessary, but will compensate the property owners and offer them relocation funds as well, but not necessarily in Waterbury, Miller said.
Miller and other state DOT officials detailed the project at the Monday Board of Aldermen meeting. Aldermen weren't happy to hear about the pending seizure of three taxpaying businesses.
The companies pay about $30,000 a year in city property tax on those properties now, said Board of Aldermen President Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. They are valued at about $750,000.
The state reimburses cities and towns for property taxes lost on state-owned properties, but that usually only covers about half of the actual value, he said.
That cuts the city's tax loss in half.
But state engineer Alireza Jamalipour said Waterbury would make money, not lose it, off the $190 million state bridge repairs project intended to extend the Mixmaster's short-term life.
"Where do you think those workers will buy their lunches, and their coffees, and their gas? In Waterbury, that is where," he said. "That makes up for those lost taxes, fast."
And it also means jobs, Jamalipour said. The state DOT has worked with the city in the past to hire local workers where it can, and will also hire off-duty city cops to staff traffic detours.
The $190 million project, which is scheduled to start in spring 2018, is not that much-discussed redesign of the Mixmaster, but merely the short-term work needed to get to the redesign.
The project will repair bridges and ramps on Route 8 and on Interstate 84, and repair and, in some cases, replace spans and decks along Route 8. The work should finish by fall 2022.
The Jackson Street property seizures will make room for the state bypass road around a section of Route 8 northbound which would take vehicles off Exit 31 and along Riverside Street.
Once the roadwork is complete, and that temporary bypass is no longer needed, the state would still own the land and could do what it wanted to with the properties, Miller said.
At a November hearing on the project, the state DOT official making the presentation said the land might be available for use as a park, but that wasn't mentioned Monday.