Connecticut projects touched by NY indictments
A developer was dropped from the long-delayed half-billion dollar Stamford Transportation Center project Thursday and the builder of the Oxford power plant is facing increased scrutiny after each was indicted in a federal bribery-and-corruption scheme in New York State.
L.P. Ciminelli Construction Corp., headed by Louis Ciminelli, has been dropped from the Stamford project, although a related real estate firm, whose president is Louis’s brother Paul Ciminelli, remains associated with it, Ben Barnes, secretary of Connecticut’s Office of Policy and Management, announced.
“The state Department of Transportation is doing its diligence now as part of the negotiations to ensure that none of the individuals involved in the project have anything to do with the New York case,” said Barnes, who has been involved in negotiations for the development which was announced in the summer of 2013 and had been scheduled for construction to begin more than two years ago. Also indicted was Peter G. Kelly, whose company is building the CPV Towantic Energy Center power plant in Oxford. Kelly, an executive for the Maryland-based Competitive Power Ventures, Inc., is the son of prominent Hartford lawyer Peter Kelly, a longtime Democratic power broker and fundraiser. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Mayor: Main Street construction in Ansonia will be first in nearly 30 years
ANSONIA — It has been decades since city residents saw any new construction downtown.
That will change in the coming weeks with the work that will begin soon on a new two-story building to house Massimino’s Pizzeria, across from the business’ current location at 70 Main St.
“We’re definitely excited,” said Anna Andretta, whose family owns the Italian eatery.
Mayor David Cassetti, whose company is serving as contractor on the project, said he hadn’t seen new construction on Main Street since he did work on an office building at 158 Main St. in 1987.
“This is the first new building in almost 30 years,” Cassetti said.
Cassetti’s company recently dug a hole on the vacant property in preparation for construction.
Andretta said her father, Massimo Andretta, has dreamed of expanding his storefront restaurant into a larger, stand-alone business for years. “It’s going to be bigger,” Anna Andretta said. “It’s going to be more upscale. And we’re going to have a private room upstairs to rent for parties.”
Andretta said customers have been requesting additional space for family functions for years. “They like the authenticity and the homey aspect of coming here,” she said. “We are expanding thanks to their loyalty.”
Sheila O’Malley, economic development director for the city, said the development is an exciting addition to the downtown, which has seen its share of economic development in recent years with new restaurants and mixed-use projects underway.
“I think what you’re seeing is kind of an awakening on Main Street,” she said. “You have a lot going on with (developers) Jerry Nocerino and Charles Smith working nearby.”
The developers are working on converting the former Ansonia Technology Park, 497 East Main St., and the adjacent Palmer Building at 153 Main St. into apartments and retail spaces.
“I think activity spurs activity,” O’Malley said. “That attracts people and it attracts tenants and it attracts interested developers.”
Massimino’s has been located in Ansonia since 1994 when Massimo came from Italy with his wife Isabella, daughters Anna and Jessica, and his son Massimo Jr.
Anna Andretta said the business will continue to offer its family recipes and homemade sauces made from scratch, but plans to change up the menu a bit once it moves into the new location. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Tax break denial scuttles plans for $30 million housing, commercial complex in Portland
PORTLAND >> The effort to recreate the Elmcrest property as a mixed-use development is over.
The developer who proposed turning the property into a mixed-use development of high-end apartments and retail shopping space has withdrawn his application and is walking away from the project.Daniel R. Bertram, the president of BRT Construction, withdrew his proposal late Wednesday after the Board of Selectmen rejected a proposal to commit in principle to a seven-year, 100-percent tax abatement for the proposed $30 million project.The 11:20 p.m. vote and Bertram’s withdrawal ends a nearly 18-month-long effort by the Danbury developer to create project that he said would yield a true “village center” for Portland. In exchange for the commitment to the abatement, Bertram promised to spend $30 million in town over the next five years. But that promise was not enough to convince selectmen Kitch Breen Czernicki, Brian M. Flood, Kathleen G. Richards and Benjamin Srb to support the abatement. Those four cast the crucial “no” votes during the selectmen’s regular meeting Wednesday.
Flood had been opposed to granting an abatement from the very beginning. He said he felt the town had no business giving an abatement to a developer who, potentially, stood to make millions on the development. Nor should the town “put its thumb on the scale,” favoring some businesses — such as a new pharmacy — at the expense of existing businesses. Srb, who had been the most active and most vocal critic of the project, had a series of arguments against granting abatement. He and his mother-in-law and fellow selectman, Kathleen G. Richards, had received an abatement for their role in developing and constructing the Chris Cote Golf Shop on Route 66. On Wednesday, Srb said he could not justify granting the abatement because of an imbalance in the ratio of residential to retail/commercial. Richards said she needed more detail before she was willing to cast her vote in favor of committing the abatement. Czernicki did not clearly say why she voted no. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Coogan Boulevard repaving project to begin Monday
Mystic — Beginning Monday, a contractor hired by the Town of Stonington will begin an approximately nine-day-long milling and repaving project of Coogan Boulevard, the busy road that leads to Mystic Aquarium and Olde Mistick Village.
The town, meanwhile, has taken a number of measures to minimize the disruption to businesses and motorists.
According to a schedule released by Public Works Director Barbara McKrell, work to mill the road will begin Monday and continue through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The milling is scheduled to take three days.
Next Thursday and Friday, work to make adjustments to road structures will occur between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Four days of paving are scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 3. That work will take place between 2 a.m. and noon each day. One exception is that no paving will take place between Route 27 and Clara Drive between 10 a.m. and 2 a.m.
Bad weather could alter the schedule.
Motorists should expect delays and slow traffic, but one lane will remain open in each direction. Drivers are being asked to drive cautiously and allow extra time to reach their destination.
Fuel-cell developer says Beacon Falls project 'shovel ready'
The developer of a proposed 63.3-megawatt Beacon Falls Energy Park said this week that the project is "shovel ready."
The proposed park, which would use fuel cells from Danbury's FuelCell Energy and be the world's largest fuel-cell park, noted it has achieved several milestones.
The proposed park, which would use fuel cells from Danbury's FuelCell Energy and be the world's largest fuel-cell park, noted it has achieved several milestones.
They include approval from the Connecticut Siting Council, an engineering agreement with Eversource regarding a nearby substation, and a tax stabilization agreement with town officials.
The park still needs a stormwater construction permit from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, a gas service agreement with Yankee Gas and an interconnection agreement with ISO NEw England.
One major development the developer, O&G Industries, is hoping for is that DEEP selects the bid it placed in response to a three-state renewable energy RFP earlier this year.