February 5, 2016

CT Construction Digest February 5, 2016

Selection of Casino Site On Track, Mohegans Say

The tribal authority that owns and operates Mohegan Sun told investors this week that a location for a third Connecticut casino will be chosen before the state legislature is asked to expand gaming beyond tribal lands.
Mohegan Sun is teaming with longtime rival Foxwoods to open a satellite casino in north central Connecticut to counter competition from a mega-casino and entertainment complex now under construction in nearby Springfield.
"We had a very positive response to the [request for proposals], perhaps even greater interest than we originally anticipated," Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, said on an earnings conference call Wednesday with analysts, according to a Bloomberg News transcript. "Because of that we've had to undertake and we continue to undertake significant due diligence and we want to ensure that we pick a location that makes sense for both organizations."
Brown said the partners don't have a specific timeline for picking a location, "but we're diligently working right now on the site selection," Brown said.
Finding a location does not ensure a casino will open. Last year, state legislators backed the search for a site, but Mohegan and Foxwoods must still win approval to expand casino gambling off tribal lands from lawmakers and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. The legislature is divided on the matter. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Company Becomes Master Developer In Effort To Revive Manchester Site

MANCHESTER — The company working with the town to revive the "dark side" of the Manchester Parkade will take a more prominent role in the project under a recently signed agreement.
A memorandum of understanding between the town and LiveWorkLearnPlay (LWLP) gives the company two years to launch development on the 18-acre, town-owned site off Broad Street. The deal was announced at a news conference Thursday morning before a redevelopment agency meeting. The key to the town's plan of a mixed-use development is landing an anchor, an educational or medical facility. Residential and retail uses also are part of the vision. As master developer, Montreal-based LWLP will use its own money to secure financing and develop the parcel, officials said. Eventually, the company would buy the property.
LWLP has received "very strong interest from health and wellness institutions that we have a relationship with," company head Max Reim said in a phone interview Thursday. "They want to know a lot more about Manchester and Hartford County. They're very much eager to be working with the town."
The developer will work with several partners, he said, including Navigant, a consulting firm involved in similar projects; Fuss & O'Neill, a Manchester-based engineering company; and Newman Architects of New Haven. Two years is a realistic time frame, Reim said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE

Construction Spending Ends Year on Mixed Note

Construction spending inched up in December from a month earlier and increased solidly over the year but the major components showed divergent trends, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials cautioned that slowdown in spending in a number of key, private nonresidential categories could reflect broader financial uncertainty and undermine the sector's recovery.
“Home and apartment construction continued growing strongly while public construction, particularly for highways, has also advanced,” said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist. “But spending on most private nonresidential categories has stalled or turned negative in the past several months. Contractors still say they are very busy now but uncertainty over the economy may mean new projects dry up.”
Construction spending in December totaled $1.117 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, less than 0.1 percent higher than the downwardly revised November total and 8.2 percent higher than in December 2014, Simonson said. For 2015 as a whole, spending totaled $1.097 trillion, an increase of 10.5 percent from 2014 and the highest annual total since 2007 before adjusting for inflation. But the December rate was only 0.2 percent higher than in July, indicating construction leveled off in the second half of 2015, he added. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
 
 
NAUGATUCK — A plan to move the Metro-North train platform to enhance economic development downtown appears to be inching closer to reality.
Up to $35 million is expected to be allocated for the project as part of a larger plan by the state Department of Transportation to improve the Waterbury Branch of Metro-North Railroad, borough officials said.
"Nothing has been signed, but we have all kinds of assurances from the transportation department that it will happen," said Ron Pugliese, president and CEO of the Naugatuck Economic Development Corp. "This would be a huge, huge move for us as it enhances the viability of a project that we're so excited about."
That project is the planned mixed-use development on parcels A and B that stretches along Old Firehouse Road. The plan, proposed by developer Ben Zitron of the New Haven-based Sustainable Development Corp., calls for 100,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet of commercial and/or retail development and between 250 and 350 residential units on the two parcels.
The parcels include the former General DataComm world headquarters building at 6 Rubber Ave. and the abutting parking lot.
The borough has signed a contract with Zitron that calls for him to buy the 320,000-square-foot building and 7 acre parking lot for $4 million. He is expected to take ownership on June 30, 2017.
The deal is contingent upon the state moving the train platform from 195 Water St. to Parcel B because Zitron wants to bring riders to the center of his development.
Naugatuck is waiting on Zitron to officially submit a development plan. Once that happens, Naugatuck will begin working with the state Department of Environmental Protection to determine what kind of remediation is necessary before construction can begin.
Naugatuck has about $975,000 in grants to pay for part of the remediation, but the final price has not been determined, officials said. The borough is responsible for the cleanup, per its contract with Zitron.
Mayor N. Warren "Pete" Hess said the borough is on schedule in completing its obligations for the deal with Zitron. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE