NEW BRITAIN — The renovation and expansion proposal for Smalley Academy will take a large step to becoming reality tonight. The Common Council will hold a special meeting at 6:45 p.m. to advance a $53 million appropriation and bond authorization to renovate and enlarge the West Street school.
The only agenda items for the meeting are to accept the report of the Administration, Finance and Law Committee’s standing bond subcommittee report on the funding and act upon a related resolution.
The subcommittee will meet at 6:30 p.m. According to Mayor Erin Stewart’s office, the public may speak during both sessions, though only on the bonding issue.
The school district ordered a feasibility study to consider Smalley’s future based on a checklist of concerns – from foundation issues in a 20-year-old addition to mold and perpetual roof leaks.
Before the completion of the feasibility study and specific costs related to construction plans, New Britain state Rep. Bobby Sanchez earlier this year estimated a renovation and expansion at the school at $40 million.
Sanchez and members of the city’s delegation committed in January to pursuing state funding for at least 80 percent of the construction price tag. Gov. Dannel Malloy last year had publicly signed on to bonding the Smalley work, Sanchez said. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Malloy’s plan would remove traffic lights from Route 9 in Middletown
MIDDLETOWN >> The governor revealed plans Tuesday to remove traffic signals from the stretch of Route 9 that runs through the city, something he calls “a design flaw from the 1950s.”
At a noon press conference at the Arcade parking lot along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way with the Connecticut River in the background, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy detailed a $75 million project to reconfigure the highway to improve traffic flow and lessen motor vehicle crashes along the one-mile area between exits 13 and 15.“There will be fewer accidents on the highway and we’ll see less deflection to other road systems because this road system will actually work as opposed to becoming a roadblock on a daily basis,” Malloy said.Engineering mock-ups supplied by the state Department of Transportation include the creation of the long-talked-about pedestrian walkway that would connect the city’s Downtown Business District to the riverfront. That pedestrian bridge over Route 9 and deKoven Drive will connect to the Riverview Plaza walkway near the police station, allowing direct access to Main Street from the riverfront.
The project, still in the conceptual stage, calls for Route 9 south to be raised to cross the Hartford Avenue/St. John’s Square and Washington Street intersections via two new bridges, according to a statement from the governor’s office. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Application filed that would allow mixed-use project on Perkins Farm
Mystic — Developer David Lattizori of Groton has taken the first official step toward developing a potential $60 million medical, research and residential campus on 70 acres of the Perkins Farm property off Jerry Browne Road.
Lattizori has filed an application with the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission seeking to amend the zoning regulations to create a new floating zone that could be located on the property.
The commission will now set a public hearing on the application in July.
According to the application, the Greenway Development District is designed to provide an alternative to a housing subdivision, while encouraging preservation of a significant amount of open space (more than 50 percent) and promoting “smart” economic development by allowing a mix of uses.
“We really want to promote conservation through development,” said Lattizori, who has approval to build 36 homes on the site while preserving 15 percent of the land as open space.
Many of the homes would line Jerry Browne Road across from the Stone Ridge retirement community.
He said the proposed development would cluster development along Interstate 95 and not be seen from Jerry Browne Road.
It would leave the wooded area and meadow that front Jerry Browne Road from Coogan Boulevard to Pequotsepos Road intact.
The uses include housing for people age 55 and older, workforce apartments, research and development, medical and professional offices, museums, wellness centers, academic facilities, out patient and urgent care facilities along with technology and light manufacturing operations. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Norwich considers razing Reid & Hughes building
NORWICH — Already on a shaky foundation for the future, the landmark Reid & Hughes building on Main Street is being eyed by city leaders for demolition.
The City Council has asked City Manager John Salomone to prepare a report on the building's status for the council's August meeting. In September, a two-year option agreement between the city and the Norwich Community Development Corporation to seek development of the site is set to expire.
Salomone toured the property at 193-201 Main St. as one of his initial tasks as manager. "It's not a secret the building has deteriorated over the years to a point where it may develop into a dangerous situation," he said. "At the same time there have been attempts to market the building for a redevelopment project." Salomone said the city had been unable to negotiate an agreement with potential developers. And with another winter approaching, he said the building needs a "hard look." Last winter, city building officials monitored the structure for any potential collapsing under the weight of snow. But it was a mild winter. Salomone said the probability of another potential developer with interest in the structure "is not on the horizon." Alderwoman Joanne Philbrick said she doesn’t want another study. "I'm looking for as of Sept. 14 a sign that would appear on the door of the building saying it's been cited for demolition," she said. "I think we have spent way too much time and way too much money on this." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Malloy Asking DOT To Fast-Track Removal Of Route 9 Traffic Lights
MIDDLETOWN — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he will push the state Department of Transportation to fast-track a new concept to finally remove the endlessly frustrating traffic lights on Route 9.
Malloy announced the state's newest plans at a press conference Tuesday. At an estimated $75 million, the latest proposal is much simpler and much cheaper than past ideas. It would eliminate crossing traffic by elevating two sections of the southbound lanes.
Drivers have been complaining about the lights on Route 9 since they were installed in the 1950s because they frequently cause miles-long backups during rush hour and during the busy summer travel season.
Beyond being an annoyance, the lights have been a danger to drivers. Malloy said with 70,000 cars a day driving on Route 9, there are is an average of 60 serious crashes each year directly related to the traffic lights. "It is outrageous, quite frankly, that the state has tolerated this for such a long period of time without coming up with an appropriate design to fix it," Malloy said. "We're proud to say today that we're doing this." With two bridges to be designed, engineering work could take until 2020 and construction could be over in 2023. Malloy said he has made the Route 9 work a top priority and is pushing for that timeline to be cut as much as possible.
"It's going to make our citizenry safer. We'll see fewer accidents on the highway, we'll see less deflection to other road systems because this road system will actually work as opposed to becoming a roadblock on a daily basis," Malloy said. "I am asking the commissioner to fast-track this particular project because it is that important. We need to move this along as rapidly as humanly possible." CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE