Connecticut Natural Gas, a subsidiary of New Haven-based Avangrid, is expanding its service territory in eastern Connecticut.
Construction got underway over the past several weeks on two projects that will expand the utility’s natural gas mains into Bolton and Coventry. The two projects are expected to be finished by the end of the year, according to CNG officials.“We have a commitment to invest and expand our gas distribution system to ensure that our region has energy options that support both economic development and consumer demands,” John Prete, Avangrid’s president and chief executive officer of Connecticut and Massachusetts operations, said in a statement. “In addition to creating jobs, we’re providing residents with another choice for cleaner, reliable energy that is critical to business development and the homeowners.”CNG’s $1.13 million expansion into Bolton will allow that community to convert five of its municipal facilities and schools to natural gas, saving the town about $50,000 a year in energy costs and providing Bolton with $30,000 a year in annual tax revenue. The expansion will involve a seven-mile extension of natural gas mains from Route 85 in Hebron onto Bolton Center Road, then along Route 44 and to the intersection of Route 6 and Interstate 384.
Because of the gas main extension, CNG will have the potential to add as many as 230 residential, commercial and industrial customers.The $2.9 million expansion in Coventry will bring four miles of gas main into town along Route 44, according to CNG officials. The project will allow the town’s municipal offices as well as two schools in addition to the police and fire departments to convert to natural gas. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Greenway Commons work could begin this year with Southington approvals
SOUTHINGTON — Developers are asking for town approval to make changes to the Greenway Commons plan in what could be the final hurdle before construction begins on the long-awaited downtown retail and residential project.
Meridian Development Partners of New York, owners of 217 and 167 Center Street and 66 High St., are requesting a special permit modification. The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a hearing on the request on Aug. 16.
Town Planner Rob Philips said the changes include the removal of a building on the southwest portion of the property and the addition of 8,400 square feet of retail to another building in place of parking. In response, the town requested that developers add landscaping along the new parking area, change the layout of on-street parking and include bike racks and street furniture along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, Philips said.
The plan modification reduces the number of residential units from 263 to 245. The majority will beapartments, with 65 condominiums.
The removal of a building was needed to reconfigure public parking, said Howard Schlesinger, a member of Meridian Partners.
Plans include incorporating the nearby Quinnipiac River into the project, although the details of how the river bank may look haven’t been finalized.
Work could begin on the first phase of the development nearest the river this year if approvals are granted by the town.
“Right after the (hearing on) the 16th, we’re ready to get started finalizing the plans and getting the project started,” Schlesinger said.
The Center Street land was recently cleared of the former Ideal Forging factory to make way for the housing units and 22,000 square feet of retail space. Financing, environmental cleanup and other complexities have stalled the development, which was approved by the PZC in 2007.
The former industrial site needed groundwater cleanup and the removal of materials such as asbestos, manufacturing acids, oils, chemicals and fluorescent light ballasts. The site was originally occupied by Peck, Stow & Wilcox Co., known by its brand name, Pexto. Ideal Forging bought the property in the 1970s and went bankrupt in the early 2000s. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
The board, though, could not make a decision on how to fund the project at its meeting Wednesday because it did not have a quorum.
Bentz said he expects that when the board meets later this month, it would work out the funding issue and send the proposal back to the Board of Selectmen to formally set a Sept. 20 town meeting vote.
Last month, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to send the plan to a town meeting vote and ask the Board of Finance to approve a supplemental appropriation for the project, but did not specify how it would be funded.
Funding possibilities include bonding, tapping the town’s undesignated fund surplus or including the cost in the annual budget.
At Wednesday’s finance board meeting, Superintendent of Schools Van Riley said he strongly supports the project but only if the town bonds the cost.
He said the town faces budget challenges in coming years and money should not be taken from the surplus or annual budget.
First Selectman Rob Simmons agreed with Riley, saying the bonding process provides the most transparency and lets residents make the decision.
Simmons and representatives of the Friends of Stonington Crew and Trust for Public Land outlined the project and why it is needed to the finance board on Wednesday.
“This is an opportunity to do something unique and special that may not come around again,” Simmons said.
Costs include $1,875,000 to buy the 1.5-acre site at 123 Greenmanville Ave. from owner Frederic Baumgarten, and another $311,793 to clean up contamination on the site, but that expense will be deducted from the purchase price.
State grants also may offset some of the costs.
There also is a $262,290 pricetag for demolition and to create the park, along with a 15 percent design fee and a 20 percent contingency fund. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Centerplan Says It Could Be Back On Job In September
HARTFORD — The former developers of Dunkin' Donuts Park said Wednesday that they hope to be back on the job in September, though the mayor said that is entirely up to Arch Insurance, the company guaranteeing completion of the ballpark.
Raymond Garcia, an attorney representing developers Centerplan Construction Co. and DoNo Hartford, said his clients have been working with both Arch Insurance and subcontractors to determine how much money it would take to restart and complete the $63 million minor league stadium. Garcia said they have a goal of being back on the job after Labor Day, sometime in September.
"Centerplan is doing everything possible to meet that goal," Garcia said in a press release. "It will take cooperation from Arch, the Architect, the City, the Yard Goats and subcontractors to meet that goal." The stadium is the future home of the Hartford Yard Goats minor league baseball team.
The speculation about renewed construction came one day after the city announced it was paying the architect, Pendulum, $247,000 for work already done, clearing the way for the firm to return — a key element in completing the stadium.
At a press conference outside his office Wednesday afternoon, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said that it was up to Arch whether it brings back Centerplan and DoNo Hartford "on their own dime and with their oversight."
"Our goal was to get Arch to come in and take over," the mayor said.
Asked whether construction could resume in September, Bronin said the former developers "seem to live in their own reality" but added that that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.
Bronin said that Arch has not completed its investigation and that there is no timeline for doing so.
The city fired Centerplan and DoNo Hartford in early June after they failed to meet a deadline for substantial completion of the ballpark.The city claimed that the developers were in default of their contract for missing the deadline, but the developers claimed that the delay was caused by the city's issuing more than 100 change orders in April and May. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE