MERIDEN — Members of the City Council unanimously approved Monday a Master Development Agreement with New Jersey-based developers Michaels Organization for development of 11 Crown St.
“A Master Development Agreement is the next natural step in the development and transition of 11 Crown,” said Councilor and Economic Development, Housing, and Zoning Committee Chairman David Lowell Monday.
The agreement outlines the responsibilities of both the city and the Michaels Organization in redeveloping the former site of the Record-Journal Publishing Co.
The parcel is one of several city-owned properties downtown that is slated for redevelopment in the coming years. The agreement approved Monday is the first for these parcels.
The city’s goal is to use increased commuter rail service to attract new residents to the city and build downtown foot traffic. Much of the economic development is tied to a flood control project that provided millions in state and federal grants.
At 11 Crown specifically, construction will include 81 apartment units and roughly 15,000 square feet of commercial space. Of those 81 units, 57 will be considered affordable housing, and the remaining 24 listed at market rate.
The city purchased the property in May 2014 for $495,000 using a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Challenge grant.
The development agreement stipulates that the Michaels Organization will purchase the property from the city for the same amount — $495,000 — though City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior said Monday that the money doesn’t need to be paid back against the federal grant. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
By Deborah Straszheim Day staff writer
Groton — The Town Council voted 7-0 Tuesday, with two members absent, to go forward with sending the school construction project to referendum.
Councilors said their support was contingent on the state providing a potential 72 percent of the total $195.6 million project cost.
If the state agrees, the three schools would cost Groton taxpayers $55 million.
“I completely support this plan,” Councilor Deborah Peruzzotti said, adding that it sounds "like we do have the state on our side.”
“I think we would have to be crazy not to take advantage of this,” Councilor Karen Morton said.The construction plan would build one new middle school and two new elementary schools to replace aging buildings and address an ongoing racial imbalance problem.
Three older elementary schools would close.
Councilors Dean Antipas and Diane Barber said they are concerned about what Groton would do with the empty school buildings.
OSHA to Propose Safety Guidelines for Construction Sector Alone
The website Businessinsurance the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration will craft a separate set of safety and health program management guidelines for the construction industry, based on feedback on a proposed update to its voluntary guidelines.
The agency is in the process of revising its proposed update to its voluntary guidelines, first published in 1989, to help employers establish health and safety management plans at their workplaces. A final version is scheduled for release in June.
“One of the issues that was identified as a result of the public comments was that both employers and workers in the construction industry said to us that what we're planning on doing is not going to work for them,” Andy Levinson, deputy director of OSHA's Directorate of Standards & Guidance, said at a public comment meeting in Washington on Thursday. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
“One of the issues that was identified as a result of the public comments was that both employers and workers in the construction industry said to us that what we're planning on doing is not going to work for them,” Andy Levinson, deputy director of OSHA's Directorate of Standards & Guidance, said at a public comment meeting in Washington on Thursday. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE