Preston – Negotiations will kick off next week between officials from the Mohegan tribe and the town of Preston that should lead to a proposed purchase and sale agreement for the 393-acre former Norwich Hospital property.
The Preston Redevelopment Agency has spent much of the past six years immersed in tedious details of grant writing, environmental assessment and cleanup, more grant writing and working with economic development planners. Now, the agency suddenly faces a six-month mission to write and win voter approval of a development agreement with the Mohegan tribe that could bring $200 million to $600 million development to the property now called Preston Riverwalk.
PRA Chairman Sean Nugent said the first negotiation meeting will be held Wednesday in Hartford with First Selectman Robert Congdon, tribal leaders, attorneys for both parties and perhaps officials from the state of Connecticut participating.
The memorandum of understanding approved last week by voters at a town meeting gives the parties 180 days to come back for another town meeting to approve a purchase and sale agreement and a more detailed “Property Disposition and Development Agreement.” That approval would start the clock on a one-year period for the town to complete any remaining environmental cleanup on the property.
With those tasks now in front of the PRA, Nugent suggested forming three subgroups to work on distinct tasks, one for handling the negotiations, a master planning committee overseeing the proposed design of the development and a third committee to work on the environmental cleanup.
The PRA already has a negotiations committee that worked extra hours in recent weeks to iron out the terms in the MOU, and also has members in charge of grants, Jim Bell, and daily cleanup operations, Ron Harris. Nugent suggested keeping those duties intact and perhaps doubling some of their tasks. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Seaside plan combines private lodge with public park, beach access
Waterford — A state-commissioned master plan for the 32-acre Seaside property includes a 100-room, privately-run state park lodge surrounded by a public park and beach access.
Officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Department of Administrative Services presented a master plan Wednesday that consultants have developed in the almost two years since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced that Seaside would be turned into a state park.
According to the plan, the state would develop a public-private partnership that would mimic the management structure of state park lodges like the inn at Bear Mountain State Park in New York or the hotels and lodges in the National Parks system across the country.
State officials hired PKF Consulting USA last year to study the economic viability of such a property.
PFK's report found that the local market could sustain a private, 100-room hotel at Seaside with an occupancy of about 60 percent at a daily rate of about $200, assuming it opened in 2020.
The plan for a lodge would keep the property's four biggest buildings, the site of the former tuberculosis hospital designed by the renowned architect Cass Gilbert in the early 1930s, intact.
Many of the buildings are run-down but can still be restored, DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan K. Whalen said in an interview before Wednesday's public presentation.
"That was the pivot point for us to find out, if they're salvageable, what are the potential uses?" she said.
Consulting firm Sasaki Associates Inc. considered several ideas proposed by members of the public — including an artists colony and housing for disabled veterans — and proposed that the buildings would be best used for a hotel.
"We are in the lodging business," Whalen said, citing campsites and cabins the state maintains across the state. "We're definitely trying to provide a broader array of lodging opportunities." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Stamford housing development to expand in South End
STAMFORD — A South End housing development that has given many low-income residents a decent place to live will be expanding in the next year.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Tuesday for the third building of the Metro Green development. Construction began in December and the building is expected to open in June 2017.
“When I bought this land about 30 years ago, I had a vision of transportation-oriented affordable housing,” said Peter Malkin, chairman emeritus of Malkin Holdings and a co-developer on the project.
The complex, which is located a block from the downtown train station, is meant to live up to its “green” name. The transit-oriented apartment building is also LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Jonathan F.P. Rose, president of Jonathan Rose Companies, is Malkin’s co-developer for the $53 million project, temporarily dubbed Metro Green III.
Metro Green III, located near the corner of Atlantic and Henry street, will consist of an 11-story, 131-unit apartment building and a 17-story, 350,000-square-foot office tower.
While the first two Metro Green buildings almost exclusively consisted of affordable housing units, Metro Green III will be a mixed-housing development, consisting of 58 at-market units and 73 below-market units, restricted to households with incomes ranging from 50 to 60 percent of the area median income. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
North Stonington moves forward after school vote
On May 16, North Stonington voters approved the project to renovate town schools by a three-vote margin, with a recount Tuesday sustaining the 908-905 result. That is not what you call a mandate.
Those who opposed the $38.5 million project have to be feeling frustrated. Voters convincingly defeated two earlier proposals. Both were more expensive than the latest version. In this case, winning one out of three is enough to claim victory.
The situation poses a major challenge for town leaders. They will have to deliver this project within the budget. Unanticipated expenses or unforeseen delays could revive opposition. That’s the reality when a town is this divided.
According to information provided to voters prior to the referendum, owners of a house assessed at about $175,000 can expect the cost of paying off the school construction bonds to add $480 to $540 to their property tax bills annually over two decades. This will create great pressure to control all other expenditures and keep tax hikes to a minimum, no easy task in a small town with a limited tax base and bare-bones government.
The fundamental issue in this referendum was whether to maintain Wheeler High School. Stonington made it clear it had the capacity to handle North Stonington students in its high school, meaning North Stonington would only have to renovate facilities for grades K-8. By that 3-vote margin, the townspeople indicated they wanted to keep their high school. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Senate Republicans: Don't Use State Money To Finish Yard Goats Stadium
Fifteen Republicans in the state Senate wrote Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Wednesday saying no state money should be used to finish construction on Hartford's delayed minor league baseball stadium.
"As a result of construction of the stadium exceeding the agreed upon deadline, we understand that costs are now likely to increase for the project," the legislators wrote. "We are also aware of comments from the Hartford Stadium Authority indicating that they will not go back to the city to seek the needed added capital. That needed capital should not come from the state and our already overburdened taxpayers."
There are no plans to use state money to finish construction of the stadium, which wasn't completed in time for the Yard Goats' April 7 home opener and missed another deadline last week. The first pitch at the $65 million stadium won't be thrown until at least mid-June.
Malloy has previously said he wouldn't commit state money to the project. Republicans said he would be breaking that commitment "if any additional aid is given to Hartford for this project's new costs due to missing its deadline."The legislators were also critical of language in the budget implementer bill that allows the city of Hartford to impose a 10 percent ticket tax at the stadium. The estimated $400,000 raised from that tax previously would have gone to the state's general fund. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Quinnipiac defends Hamden field plans amid heavy criticism
HAMDEN >> Opposition to Quinnipiac University’s plans to construct two stadiums around its two existing fields on Mount Carmel Avenue continued during Tuesday’s Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on the application. But the activity planned for the fields isn’t much different than what’s already going on there, the school’s attorney told the commission.
Quinnipiac’s plans include resurfacing the playing fields and the construction of locker room and bathroom facilities at each of the fields, with the construction of stadium seating above those buildings. The stadium on one field would seat 1,500, while the other stadium would accommodate 500 people.
“It’s important to keep in mind that all of the proposed activities to take place on the fields are already taking place,” attorney Bernard Pelligrino told the commission. “To say these are going to be giant, monstrous fields is just not true.” But that is how several residents described the plans as they spoke in opposition to the application, including members of the Sleeping Giant Park Association, several of whom attended the meeting. The association has been urging the commission to deny the application, saying “let the Giant sleep.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
AEM, Northwestern University Unveil Future of Infrastructure Study
On May 23rd the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) launched an in-depth study on the future trends and opportunities influencing how U.S. transportation infrastructure will move people and goods in the year 2050. The study was unveiled during a symposium hosted by AEM and Northwestern University to close out Infrastructure Week 2016.
Download the full study: www.aem.org/IV2050
The study was produced by a multi-disciplinary team at Northwestern University, including experts in the fields of civil and environmental engineering, economics and sustainability, which reviewed the study's findings and discussed how to leverage future opportunities, technologies and trends in pursuit of a national and comprehensive plan for U.S. infrastructure.
The symposium also featured remarks from several national and state transportation thought leaders and policymakers, including, Kennametal CEO Ron De Feo, who urged the audience to think about what U.S. infrastructure could and should look like in the year 2050.
“The objective of the study is not to predict the future, but to frame scenarios and trends that will inform the public and policymakers about what is possible,” said De Feo, who serves as chairman of AEM's Infrastructure Vision 2050 Task Force. “AEM and its members will use this study to articulate the factors and trends that will shape a national, long-term vision for U.S. infrastructure. There is much to discuss, debate and, most importantly, decide.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUEState plans to rehabilitate 2 bridges on I-84
SOUTHBURY — Two bridges carrying Interstate 84 traffic over routes 67 and 6 are deteriorating, showing signs of chipping paint, cracked concrete, water leaks and rusting steel. State Department of Transportation officials conducted a public information meeting Wednesday night on a $3.5 million project to rehabilitate both bridges. The five residents attending the event at Town Hall were concerned only about the impact construction would have on traffic. "Old Waterbury Road and South Main Street are impacted by accidents on Interstate 84, and the movie theater is coming," Beverly Stoddard of Little York Road said of the theater project to be built on Main Street South.
Tom Lopata, project engineer from CME Associates, which was hired by the DOT, said: "We're hoping having construction late at night will alleviate most of these concerns."
The federal government will fund about 90 percent of the project and the state will pay for the other 10 percent under the "Fix It First Transportation Initiative" program. If the project is approved, work would begin in the spring of 2018 and end that fall.
"The project is in the preliminary stage, so anything can change and we welcome your input," said Dobie A. Kania, project manager for the Division of Bridges at ConnDOT.
Andrew J. Cardinali, a project engineer in bridge consultant design at the agency, and Donald P. Wurst, senior project manager for CME, were also on the panel during the meeting. One of the photos in the night's presentation showed a large orange vehicle underneath a bridge. Lopata said it is called a paint train, which is used to sand blast old paint from under bridges. He said it sucks up the debris as a containment measure. The vehicle is one of the reasons why there would be some lane closures on Route 67. Cardinali said traffic will still be allowed through during construction.
"They'll probably close a lane on each side of 67, depending on what they're doing," he said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE